Kidnapped
by doopythepotato
Summary: Mello, Matt, and Near get kidnapped by three evil individuals. These men only want money and are using the boys for ransom to achieve that goal. The Wammys orphanage refuses to pay the amount to retrieve the boys, causing them to end up in serious trouble. L finds out about this and knows immediately that he has to use his deductive skills to save the kids before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1 - Kidnapped

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I don't own Death Note or the cover art so... don't sue me plz**

* * *

Mello glared down at his test result. A ninety-nine out of one hundred. That one damned point. He could have gotten a perfect score if not for that one mistake! He crumpled up the paper in disgust and threw it onto the ground.

"Hey, Mels!" Matt yelled cheerfully, running over to the raging blonde. His demeanor changed though, as soon as he saw the look on his friend's face. "You ok there buddy?" Matt asked carefully. He knew Mello pretty well, and judging by the current look on his face, he was a ticking bomb. One wrong move and Matt would probably get yelled at. Mello had always had some kind of trouble, dealing with his anger. Matt knew this all too well, and he had witnessed this anger more than once in their childhood friendship. The fact was, if Mello yelled at someone, it wasn't always because he was mad at _them_ specifically. Of course, that could always be the case as well, but when it came down to Matt at least, the blonde was probably just trying to blow off some steam because something had frustrated him. Matt didn't mind too much because Mello had always been like a brother to him. Bottling up his anger would probably be much more dangerous for Mello anyway, so Matt would much rather feel these small bursts of rage, rather than the blonde having a full-blown fury attack later on. In any case, Matt had immediately recognized the cause of his friend's anger after he saw the crumpled up piece of paper on the ground.

"Ninety-nine!" The blonde boy shouted, "I was one point off!" Matt looked at him sympathetically for a second and then decided that he should probably say something to try and make him feel better. He knew that Mello took his grades very seriously, especially when he was competing against Near.

"Hey… You know you did way better than me Mels!" Matt exclaimed, holding out his own test result. "You see! I got a ninety-four. You know, you complaining about your grades when mine are even worse, just makes me feel worse." The brunette explained with mock-hurt. It was meant to be lighthearted. His jokes usually calmed Mello down when he was like this so it was worth a shot. Not only this, but he had mixed a slight guilt trip in his words that he thought would help his case as well. Matt, you're a genius. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he noticed his technique seemed to be effective. Mello had let out a huff and then seemed to calm down. The keyword here was seemed, because as soon as Matt was done internally commending himself he noticed that Mello had stormed off and his eyes widened when he noticed where. _Crap, he's going towards Near. He's gonna be even more pissed when he finds out that Near got a higher score than him!_ "Hey! Mels wait!" Matt yelled. He knew Mello hated Near because Near had always managed to top him in all academics, but Matt couldn't bring himself to feel the same way. He didn't have any sort of grudge against Near as the pale boy had never wronged him in any way. Matt never approved of Mello hurting Near but this was, unfortunately, a norm now. Mello tried to beat him up mostly when he was pissed off about Near being Wammy's top student in his stead. Matt attempted to interfere as much as possible, usually being able to break up the one-sided fight when it started getting violent. Any time where Mello went close to Near, the brunette automatically assumed that a fight was about to break out. He hadn't been wrong yet and even this time, he could see that Mello was already grabbing Near by the collar. He had already snatched the test results out of Near's pale hands, staring at the percentage written on top. Matt could tell by the way his face twisted that Mello was not happy with the result.

"You cheated, didn't you! You little freak! It makes no sense that I study my butt off and you just sit here twiddling your thumbs and still end up with a better result." Near looked a bit surprised at this outburst but he still managed to reply in his normal voice.

"Mello. I promise you that I didn't cheat. Let me go please" The lack of emotion in his voice caused Mello's blood to boil even more.

"Hey! Mello, calm down" Matt yelled, rushing forward between the two as soon as he saw Mello raise his arm up to punch Near. Mello looked at him for a second and then aggressively shoved Near aside.

"This isn't over. I'll definitely get the better score next time" The blonde swore and then walked away. Matt sighed.

"Near… I apologize on his behalf, I understand that you probably hate him, but he's just really serious about being L's successor. He doesn't have any right to do what he does to you, but if it makes you feel any better, he doesn't treat everyone this way..."_ Wow… I'm pretty stupid. How was that last part supposed to make him feel better? That probably made him feel worse!_

"No… I don't hate him, Matt, I really don't… He hates me, but if possible, I would actually prefer it if the two of us could… get along." Near said quietly. Matt gave him a small smile.

"I wish that too, you have a good heart Near, I'm sure Mello will see that one day." Near didn't respond to that, but Matt didn't mind, Near wasn't the most talkative kid anyway.

* * *

"These are the kids right?" A buff looking man, known as Vito asked his partner while staring into a window outside of the orphanage.

"Yep! We found 'em now we just gotta find a way to snatch 'em without anyone noticing." Another man exclaimed proudly.

"We're gonna be rich Randy!" The man known as Vito exclaimed, "This place'll do anything to get the kids back!"

"Yeah, just need to stalk 'em a little more, let's abduct them when they're all asleep." Added another man named Wade. All three of them snickered at their plan. So far, everything has been going extremely well for them, and tonight, they would make their move.

* * *

Night-time was approaching quicker than Mello wanted it to, as he was still busy studying.

"Mels!" He heard his name being called. "You wanna play this video game with me? It's really good!" Mello turned around and stared at Matt, who was excitedly standing at his doorway with his Gameboy clutched in his hands.

"Matt, not now, I need to study," Mello said, gesturing to the pile of books in front of him. He noticed Matt's expressed drop a bit, causing Mello to feel slightly guilty. Come to think of it, he'd been a bit more distant towards Matt lately. It was mostly because of all of the exams going on, but he could tell that the brunette was still affected by it. Without thinking, Mello let out a small sigh and then pushed his books away from himself. Matt had already turned around, deciding to go back to his own room to play by himself. "Hey, wait," Mello said finally. Matt turned around in confusion,

"Uh… you need something, Mello?" He asked timidly.

"No, I just-" Mello took a soft breath and then continued, "Matt, let's play that new game, I'm getting kinda tired of studying," Mello emphasized his words by dropping the book he had been holding onto his desk and standing from his chair. Matt looked beyond happy. He looked like he wanted to start jumping up and down, but he forced himself to keep his composure to not seem uncool. Both of them sat on Mello's bed and Matt began to explain the rules of the game. They seemed to lose track of time as they chatted and they played and only realized how late it was when their yawns became too frequent.

"I guess we should head to bed now," Matt said, covering his mouth as he yawned once again.

"Yeah," Mello agreed, before checking the time on the wall clock, noticing that it was already 11:00. It was extremely dark out now, and Matt wished the blonde good night before walking out of the room. Mello clicked off the lights and lay down on his bed, tossing and turning a bit; sensing something to be a bit off. He had a weird feeling in his gut, and it refused to go away. His gut feelings were unusually accurate but the blonde decided to ignore his gut, just this once, and just close his eyes to rest his head. That was a big mistake on his part, and the blonde realized this as soon as he felt someone roughly grab him and cover his mouth with their hands, as to make sure he wouldn't make noise. His eyes widened.

"Hey, kid. Cooperate and no one get's hurt." The large figure whispered to him in his ears. _Cooperate! I'm not some sort of coward._ Mello thought and instantly began struggling with all of his might. There was no point in this because unfortunately for him, this man was strong. He held him in a painfully tight grip which made even breathing difficult. Before he knew it, the man had firmly restrained his wrist and then wrapped something around his mouth so that he wouldn't be able to yell for help. Mello was then dragged out of the room, silently. Of course, he wanted to beat this man up, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe he could actually overpower him; especially not in his current position. For now, he thought that it would probably be best to cooperate. The man silently opened the exit and walked out of the orphanage. He shoved Mello into an open car causing his eyes to widen when he realized he wasn't the only one there. Another kid, he was wearing goggles._ Wait... Matt! Crap they have Matt too. They can't get away with this. _Matt stared at him with wide eyes, full of fear. Those eyes lit a fire within Mello, _We're both going to get out of here together… _

"C'mon, you stupid kid…" Another man grunted. Both Mello and Matt turned their heads to see what was happening. Mello was shocked to see they had brought yet _another _kid. _How many more of us are they bringing?_ "Stop fighting back." Mello squinted his eyes to see who it was that the man was talking to. It was really dark out, and the panic rising in his stomach didn't help with clearing his vision. Everything was moving too fast. He then finally caught a glimpse of the third kid the men were restraining. His white locks caught Mello's eye instantly and then with a rush, he knew exactly who it was. _Near too!? _This couldn't have been random; They had just taken the top three Wammy's kids. There was definitely something that these men wanted from them. The man roughly shoved Near into the car and then sat down next to him. Right after this, Mello heard multiple doors closing as the other men got into the car and slammed their doors shut. Matt jumped slightly at the loud noise._ This isn't good. What are we supposed to do in a situation like this? Not to mention, I'm stuck here next to Near__! Can this get any worse at this point?_ Mello forced himself to keep a straight face, deciding that all of them would just have to be patient right now. _These guys are probably trying to get money out of the orphanage. Wammy will probably pay up soon enough and then we'll be free. We just need to stay calm for now._ He had no way of communicating this idea to the others, but to be fully honest, they had probably already figured this out themselves. They were Wammy's top three for God's sake. The car had started moving, and the man next to Near looked to be glaring at the boy.

"This stupid kid bit my arm." The man complained angrily.

"Quit being such a baby Wade." _So that's what his name was. _"He's a little kid, how the hell does that little nibble even hurt?" Another man asked him smugly.

"Shut the hell up, Randy! He's small but he bit hella hard… Don't ask me where any of that strength came from though." The man driving sighed.

"If it hurt that badly then feel free to do whatever to him to make up for the _pain_" He grumbled in a slightly sarcastic manner. Despite this, Mello felt Near stiffened at those words. The blonde actually felt a bit of sympathy for him until he realized that his sympathy was wasted on someone like Near. He instead glanced up at the man known as Wade only to realize that he had a big ugly grin on his face. The man suddenly grabbed on of Near's thin arms and asked,

"How 'bout I break an arm?" The man voiced eerily. Matt's eyes widened and even Mello began to feel a bit nervous. Yes, he hated Near, but that didn't mean that he wanted him to suffer _this_ badly. There was a heavy tension that filled the atmosphere of the car but it was thankfully broken due to one of the men talking.

"That's a little much don't you think?" He scoffed, "Actually, we were gonna rough him up a bit anyway cuz he's the smallest of 'em. they'll be more desperate to pay the money if they see the little kid injured. You can do the job if you want" the man in the driver's seat explained while laughing. Mello couldn't help but look at them with disgust. He wanted to feel relieved that they were only deciding to hurt Near and not him or Matt, but it felt so wrong. Even if it was Near, these men hurting him like this didn't feel satisfying at all.

"Fine, I'll wait until we get to the base." The man blurted in annoyance. He roughly shoved Near's arm away and gave the white-haired boy a creepy look.

"Don't let yourself feel like you're off the hook, kid. Once we get to the base, you'll get punished for this." The man growled out. Near didn't respond, he was unemotional as always. Mello was starting to get a bit annoyed at how Near refused to show any emotion, despite the situation he was in. Right now, he should be afraid of what was about to happen to him, but he looked unfazed. _Maybe they should __beat the crap out of him. Maybe then he'll finally show some normal human emotion, even if it's just pain. _It was a horrid thought, yet for some reason, Mello really didn't care. He drew his attention towards Matt, who was still slightly shivering, no doubt from fear. Mello had never really been good with comfort, but he decided that with the situation all three of them were in, it would be best to at least try. He nudged the brunette a bit, hoping his small attempt was at least a bit helpful. Matt turned his head to look at his friend. _Matt, we're both in this together, so don't be afraid._ This is what Mello was trying to say with his gaze, and Matt seemed to understand as no more than a few seconds later his shaking decreased a bit and he seemed to have calmed down. None of them noticed the car slowly come to a halt until one of the men shouted,

"We're here! Get out." Mello looked up only to see that the car door had opened and that Near was being roughly pulled out of the car. Mello and Matt followed behind him without another word. _We have to make it look like we're cooperating at least. We'll be rescued soon anyway. _This was Mello's plan for now. It really wasn't in character for him to just easily comply with something he didn't want, so this was pretty difficult for him. He had convinced himself that this had to be the best way through this problem though. Mello looked around at this new area they had just stepped foot on. It was some sort of old abandoned prison; the aura was dark and clammy. The men shoved the kids through the door of the building and a slight chill ran through their spines. It was scary, not that Mello would ever admit it to anyone, but this place smelled of pain and death. They were all then taken to a large open area, and it was then that they noticed a row of large prison cells. _They're gonna trap us in those until they get the money_... Mello had already seen something like this coming, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. _There are multiple cells so maybe they'll separate us all from each other. _It was as if the men had somehow answered his thoughts when they stuffed all three of the kids into one cell.

"Tomorrow we're gonna call that orphanage of yours and if they pay up, you kids'll be free." The man known as Randy told them. "We won't hurt you if you don't try to escape." The man added. _So I was right,_ thought Mello. The man then came forward and untied the fabric around their mouths and hands. They could finally speak and move but there was really no point in screaming for help or trying to escape. Judging by the lack of buildings near the warehouse that they were in, no one would hear them scream anyway and there was nowhere to really go either. Besides, If they did try to yell or escape, they would probably end up getting caught and beat up. Either way, nothing good would come out of it.

"Yeah, we won't hurt none of y'all 'cept for that one," The man known as Wade pointed at Near, "He needs to be punished for this," the man grunted out, pulling at his sleeve and revealing the bite that he had been complaining about. The bite mark in it of itself wasn't too large, but it was an angry red and bleeding. Near had bitten him so hard that there was already some bruising forming around the wound. _Wow… That looks painful, Near did quite a number on his arm._ Mello spared a glance towards the white-haired boy, who didn't react to seeing what he had done. He had to admit that what Near did was pretty cool, but now he was about to get pummeled for it.

"You sure you wanna beat that kid up yourself?" Asked the man who had previously driven the car.

"Hell yeah I do Vito, the little punk deserves it," Wade shouted giving the man known as Vito a long hard glare causing the buffer man to sigh and shrug his shoulders.

"Fine then, just make sure not to kill him," Vito replied walking away along with Randy. Wade grinned evilly,

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The man didn't waste any time stalking inside of the cell and grabbing Near by his shirt. Near glared up at him. Slap. The loud sound echoed through the vacant prison. Near didn't make a sound, but his pale face was already turning red from the harsh smack. Matt's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. _He just slapped Near… we have to do something or else he might really hurt Near badly. _

"Don't look at me like that you brat. I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget." Wade pulled on Near's shirt, dragging him out of the cell. "Don't try anything funny". Mello and Matt suddenly heard Wade say. They noticed that this set of words was directed not towards Near, but for them. They then heard a loud sound as the cell doors were closed. Matt opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was too late, Both the man and Near were probably far out of listening distance by now. This caused Matt to feel really panicked and he tried to stand up and reach the bars of the cell. Before he managed to fully get on his feet, Mello grabbed his arm and forced him back down.

"What are you doing Matt?" Mello whisper-yelled. "Do you wanna get beat up too?" Matt shot him a look.

"Mels, I know you don't care about Near, but I can't stand by and do nothing when he's getting hurt! I have a really bad feeling about this." Mello looked at him in thought for a second before replying.

"Matt, since when did you care about what happens to that emotionless freak anyway?" There was an uncomfortable silence in the cell and Mello heard his friend take a deep breath.

_"Mello_, he's still a human being. He's never done anything to hurt me, so I don't have any reason to hate him." Matt's explanation wasn't exactly wrong, but it seemed to rub Mello the wrong way. _I swear if Near steals my friend from me as well, I'll kill him._ This was obviously just an empty threat conjured up by Mello's raging mind, but at the current moment, he seemed pretty sure of himself. In response to what Matt said, Mello just glared at him for a second before sighing. He wouldn't admit, even to Matt, that he too was starting to feel a bit of panic in the pit of his stomach. He found himself slightly hoping that the man wouldn't do anything horrible to Near. He didn't know why he was thinking like this right now. Not more than a few hours ago, he hadn't thought twice before raising a fist at the white-haired boy, so why did he care if someone else were to do it. _It's because I wouldn't kill him, this man probably would have no remorse in doing so_… This had to be the correct answer. It was the only reason that made sense to Mello at least. For now, it was just a waiting game. They had to put up with this only until tomorrow so that these criminals finally contacted Wammy. Then, Mello had no doubt that they would be rescued.

**AUTHOR'S**** NOTE: **

**Hello my readers!(Assuming there are any) \\('-')/ I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**This is the first chapter to my first ever story! (at least the first one here on ) Please review and let me know what you think of it so far! It really encourages me to write more if I know there are other's enjoying my work. Also if you wanna let me know of any errors I made in my writing (grammatical or even plot holes) feel free to let me know. I know that I'm far from being a perfect writer but I'm always trying to improve! See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Damage

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I don't own Death Note cuz if I did L wouldn't have died...**

* * *

Mello and Matt had been awake for quite a while since Near had been taken and the brunette seemed to get more and more worried as every minute passed. Near still hadn't been brought back and they had both been waiting for _at least _a half an hour. They kept waiting for another half an hour despite feeling their eyelids droop with fatigue. After this much time, Mello was beginning to get frustrated at how much longer they would have to wait. He then promptly gave in to his sleep, grumbling something about how Near wasn't worth all this hassle. Matt, on the other hand, was far too anxious to do the same. He continued watching the metal bars until his body refused to let him stay awake any longer and his eyelids just shut on their own accord. Both were now fast asleep on the ground of the cold metal cell, yet they were far too deep in their sleep to notice how uncomfortable it really was. About three hours into their rest, they were awoken by the heavy cell doors opening. Mello grumbled something akin to a curse before falling right back asleep, not bothering to check where the noise that came from. This was not the case for Matt, who immediately shot awake, knowing that It had to be Near. The man had to have finally brought him back and Matt was impatient to ease his worries. His eyes darted up, to look at what condition the youngest boy was in, but soon widened with what he saw. Even in the darkness of the cell, he could tell that something was seriously wrong. Near's body was shaking, and it was obvious to him that the man had shown him no mercy, even when finally bringing him back to the cell from the hours and hours of torture that he'd just endured. Wade dropped Near to the ground and kicked him into the cell, causing the boy to let loose a short whimper.

"That was fun," the man said creepily "let's do it again some time kid," He smirked before yawning and heading off to what Matt assumed was probably his bedroom accommodation. Whatever the case, Matt didn't waste time in rushing over to Near, who was curled in on himself, with his body covered in bruises and what could only be… _blood. What did he _do _to him!_ He felt bile raise up to his throat, and tears prick at the corners of his eyes. _He couldn't have… right…? _Matt's thoughts were getting seriously dark and disturbing so he forced his focus back to the present and onto Near for now.

"Near… where did he hurt you." He whispered gently. When the white haired boy didn't respond, Matt reached his hand forward and touched his shoulder. Before his hand landed though, Near flinched violently out of the way. Matt was shocked. _Does he… think I'm gonna hurt him… _"Near… I promise I'm not gonna hurt you" Matt's eyes had failed to contain his tears and now he was openly crying. He was scared for all of them, but right now, he was so very scared for Near_._

"What goin' on" Mello's voice suddenly mumbled. The blonde sat up rubbing his eyes, before setting his sights on the scene in front of him. _Is that Matt and… _Near_? _Mello scooched forward, making his way towards the two others.

"Matt…" The blonde whispered in shock. "Are you… crying?" Matt had immediately begun to wipe the tears away from his face, as to not let Mello see that he had, in fact, been crying. It had been a fruitless attempt, but he refused to pay mind to it.

'Mello… I told you…" he cried, his voice breaking as he tried to finish his sentence, "I said that they were gonna do something to him." Matt sniffed trying to get himself under control. Mello's eyes widened in remembrance and he glanced down at Near, realizing that Matt had been right. Near was looking horrible. Whatever that man had done to him, wasn't what anyone

would call 'an eye for an eye'. Near had simply bit him, and although the bite had been pretty nasty, this was… this was too much. Near seemed to have specks of blood staining parts of his, usually pristine, white pyjamas. He was bruised almost everywhere they could see, and what made it worse was that the only currently exposed parts of his body were his hands, face, and feet. Who knew how much worse it could be below his clothes. Mello was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard Near say something…

"What's wrong Near… what did he do to you?" Mello found himself asking, much more gently than he thought he could. He leaned forward in order to hear what Near was saying but instead, noticed that his breathing was ragged and labored. He leant in a little bit closer and felt slightly uncomfortable when he heard a slight rattle as the boy was breathing. _That doesn't sound good_.

"… I think he b-broke my… r-ribs." Near whispered, wincing after the last syllable escaped his lips. Mello noticed that Near was weakly clutching at his side. The blonde boy bit his lip. This wasn't looking good. He had already suspected that Wade might have broken a few of his bones, but that didn't mean he wasn't surprised to hear it from Near himself. He noticed that Matt had managed to calm himself down and was now looking quite determined. The blonde sighed before speaking his mind.

"Matt…" he muttered "He most likely has… broken ribs." A part of him felt kind of bad, knowing full well that Matt had just managed to calm himself down, and was now being told something even more worrying. This sense of guilt was slowly washed away, though, as soon as he considered the fact that both him and Matt needed to be fully aware of everything when it came to their current predicament. If either of them chose to remain ignorant, he knew that they could really end up screwing up their situation even more. It could even cost them their _lives_. To say he wasn't surprised when Matt didn't start crying again, would be a lie but he kicked himself for thinking that Matt was so weak. He chose to be friends with him for a reason and that reason was because Matt had never been like some of the other kids who sucked up to him just because of his position. Matt had always been extremely caring so he couldn't bear to see anyone he cared about in any kind of pain. He was the type of person to feel sympathy for a complete stranger, hence the tears he shed for Near. Mello wasn't at all shocked when his best friend put a hand on his shoulder and whispered,

"Mels… we gotta help him..._._" Mello knew that Matt's kindness would get the better of him someday, but for now, Mello couldn't refuse him. Near seemed to be in pretty bad shape, and he felt that it would only be right to, at the very least, make sure he wasn't _dying. _At this current moment there wasn't much that they could even do for Near. Their efforts might not even show a result in the end, but Mello knew that they still had to at least try. With this thought in mind the blonde curtly nodded. _Near or not, he's still hurt and we can't just leave him like this. All we really need to do is keep him alive until we get rescued. How hard could that possibly be? _Mello, once again, looked at the trembling form in front of him. just as he was about to reach his hands forward to try and examine him, he was abruptly stopped by Matt, who grabbed his hand before it made any contact with Near.

"Mels… don't" He said quietly, causing the blonde to give him a strange look.

"Don't what?" Mello asked skeptically. Did Matt really think he would hurt Near? Matt and Mello had been friends since they were little kids. Matt had to know, at least by now, that he wasn't so low as to kick someone that was already down. "Why…" Mello inquired with confusion lacing his voice. After all, he had only been trying to help so far; what could possibly be a good reason for Matt to stop him? Matt seemed hesitate before replying.

"I think he's scared… cuz… I tried to touch him a bit ago and he flinched away." Matt was careful about speaking quietly. It was as if he thought that speaking too loud would cause the small white haired boy on the ground to break into pieces. Mello, on the other hand, hadn't even considered the possibility of Near being frightened. It hit him like a shock, _Near was a human being_. It was so easy to forget that, with his always cold and calm demeanor, but now when he was laying in front of them, vulnerable to anything and anyone, Mello didn't know how to act. _Maybe he won't get scared like that again if I warn him before trying to touch him. _The idea was worth a shot…

"Hey, Near…" Mello muttered to the white haired boy. Near didn't say anything in response. He was too busy focusing on his breathing in a pitiful attempt to take his mind off of how much everything hurt. Mello didn't get frustrated for a change; he just calmly tried again "Near, I'm gonna have to take a look so don't panic if I touch you..." The blonde hadn't expected him to reply this time either, so he was a bit surprised when he heard Near weakly hum in response. Mello brought his hands towards the young shaking kid and slowly and carefully managed to shift Near into a flat lying position. Near mumbled a few protests here and there, but Mello assumed that they were probably from the pain. The young boy was still clutching at his side and shaking terribly. Mello couldn't explain the strange sinking feeling he felt in his chest when he saw Near that way. It was as if his heart hand suddenly sunk into his stomach. The feeling didn't make any sense. Why would _he_ care if Near was in pain? Mello gulped his feelings down and instead focused on carefully prying Near's hand off from his side. Near was pressing on the wound pretty tightly, but forcing off his hand wasn't a challenge for the blonde, especially since condition didn't do any favors for his strength. When he had finally removed Near's hand, he hesitated a bit to lift his shirt up. _What if it's really bad...? _Mello didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he was feeling slightly anxious. He'd never really seen a bad injury before, and found himself really hoping that Near's wounds weren't as bad as he was expecting them to be. Then again, they had to be pretty severe for Near to admit to thinking that his ribs were broken. He decided to mentally count down from three, telling himself that once he reached one, he would lift Near's shirt to reveal the wound.

Three. He grabbed both corners of the shirt.

Two. he gripped tighter and took a breath.

One. he eased the shirt up and forced himself to examine the damage. At first sight of the injury, He immediately covered his mouth, while Matt gasped in shock and fear.

There was a large bruise on Near's side. It was colored in various shades ranging from reds, purples, and blues, but with the darkness of the cell, these colors weren't quite visible. What was, in fact visible, were the horrid cuts that were scattered all over his torso, some that were bleeding pretty badly. There were multiple other smaller bruises that were layered around the larger one, meaning he had probably received multiple direct hits in the same area. These bruises looked even more horrific on Near's pale and delicate complexion. Mello found himself wincing at how badly Near's whole body must be aching. _If the bruise is this bad, then he could possibly have some sort of internal bleeding! With this much damage, he might really not make it out of here alive! _Even Near didn't deserve _this._ He was pulled out of his thoughts suddenly when he heard the white haired boy say something.

"I-Is it r-really... that... bad?" The white haired boy mumbled breathily. _Shoot,_ Mello thought. _I must be acting really disturbed for him to say that. He's probably more scared than the both of us. _Having these types of thoughts felt weird to Mello. He wasn't used to feeling concerned, especially not for someone he had always considered a rival. Someone that he was so sure that he _hated._ Mello sighed. What could he say to _that?_ He glanced at the wound once again, wincing slightly at the horrid injury. It really was _bad, _but was it right for him to tell the younger boy. He should probably focus on making sure that Near _didn't _panic, but that would be a lot easier if Near was some ordinary kid. This was obviously not the case though as the white haired boy was brilliant. He was extraordinarily smart, as much as Mello hated to admit it. The blonde was half certain that Near already _knew_ the extent of his situation right now, so feeding him some false facts wasn't really an option.

"Near… It's pretty bad, I- '' He was immediately cut off by Matt, who harshly nudged him in his side. Mello shot him a look, but immediately softened when he saw the seriousness in Matt's face. It was a look that was indirectly telling Mello that in a situation like this, they were to be reassuring Near rather than making him feel worse. Mello had never pinned himself as someone that was good at dealing with people, especially when they were hurt, so seeing that he _didn't _choose the correct thing to say, didn't really surprise him all that much. He decided to let Matt take over speaking, who chose his words carefully.

"Near, You're gonna be fine. We're gonna make sure to help you in any way possible until we get rescued." Near's breathing was getting more and more shallow by the second, his eyes seemed to be half lidded. _He's probably exhausted. _The wite haired boy winced after almost every breath, but didn't reply to Matt. His eyes began to slowly close. _Is it even a good idea to let him sleep while he's in this condition? _This was the question that crossed Mello's mind as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness that washed over him. He had no clue what to do, helping Near seemed to now be completely out of the question because they had nothing they could use to do so. No bandages, no medicine, no medical training whatsoever. They were just kids, shoved into this horrible problem with no hope for a solution. Mello cringed at the thought. He'd never thought about anything that way; he'd always known how to deal with every problem that came his way, but right now he didn't like how he felt so small.

"Mels…" Matt suddenly interrupted the blonde's thoughts, "I think he fell asleep." Mello refocused his vision on the youngest boy only to realize that Matt was right. Near had somehow managed to fall asleep, or faint. Really, whichever came first. What stood out to him though, was how his complexion looked completely ashen. He was _too_ pale and looked almost… dead. It was a grim thought, but one that Mello couldn't help but conjure. The blonde reached forward, gently tugging Near's shirt back down so that his body was once again covered. A sudden thought crossed his mind and he almost kicked himself for not thinking of it before. _Could Near… have a fever? _That would explain the shivering, and considering the condition of the cell and what he'd just been through, it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume so. He didn't hesitate to reach his hand forward and place it onto the pale boy's forehead, noticing that it felt slightly warm. _If he does have one, it luckily doesn't seem to be too high. _It was a relief to find out that at least something wasn't as bad as it could have been. He glanced back at Matt who looked absolutely drained. He, unlike Mello, was used to maintaining at least a slightly normal sleeping schedule, so he wasn't accustomed to running on such little sleep for so much time. Mello sighed, knowing immediately what needed to be done.

"Matt, you should try and get some sleep… I'll watch over him if you're worried." He stated briskly. Matt's eyes widened when he heard what the blonde had just offered.

"Mels… I can't do that, you need sleep too-" Mello cut him off

"I'm not tired Matt, but I can tell that you obviously are." The blonde then sighed and continued in a softer tone "just get some rest, I'll watch over him." He could tell by the look on the brunette's face that he wanted to protest a bit more, but his exhaustion got the better of him and he slowly nodded. He laid down on the ground, curling up into a ball to preserve heat, and almost immediately fell asleep. Mello sighed. He really did feel like a big brother right now. Taking care of my two little bros, was what went through his mind suddenly. He immediately cringed at the thought. Matt as his brother was possible. Near, though? There was no way! He glanced back to Near with a look of contempt. The look was short lived though; it disappeared as soon as Mello's eyes landed on the white haired boy. He suddenly felt kind of bad seeing him hurt like this. It wasn't a feeling he could fully make sense of but perhaps it was the numbing thought of how easily he or Matt could be in Near's place. If the men had got too excited, they might have beat them all up for that matter. They were lucky to have avoided the same fate, and that alone was enough to make Mello grateful. Near didn't have anyone who could help him right now, so maybe, just this once, the blonde would keep watch over him. Either way, it was going to be a long night...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter was really hard to write and I'm not as proud of it as I would want to be, but I really hoped you all enjoyed it! I'll be making edits to my works as I see fit, but other than that I would really like to thank all my readers. As I said in the last chapter, If possible, I would really appreciate any reviews I can get because it encourages me to get back to work writing the next chapter. Special shout out to these three individuals who took time out of their lives to favorite my story!**

**aqua001823**

**Marisolscout**

**BloodyEmeraldRose**

**Thank you so much!**

**Bonus:**

**Mello: So... Since when do I care about the sheep?**

**Matt: since he got beat up and almost died...?**

**Mello: yeah, I guess I'm just doing everything out of pity. That makes more sense.**

**Near: *coughs painfully***

**Mello: HEY, DON'T DIE ON ME NEAR. NOOOOO.**

**Matt: yes, out of pity I see**

**Mello: ...shut up Matt**


	3. Chapter 3 - Hopeless

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**I don't own Death Note, or the cover art...**

* * *

Near gasped in pain as he was thrown into the small room. _Another cell?_ Wade walked in with a big ugly grin on his face.

"I told you that I'd make you regret this." His voice boomed as he revealed the bite mark on his arm. Near refused to respond, he just glared back at the man with his most ferocious look. He'd never truly hated someone as much as he hated this man.

"That look again huh? Looks like you didn't learn the first time." The man roughly grabbed the boy's shoulders and kneed him in the side. The pain was so intense that Near felt his vision go completely white. What made everything worse was the loud splitting _Crack_ sound that echoed through the cell. _He definitely just cracked my ribs._ Near was dropped to the ground again, but he didn't notice. He couldn't hear past his own gasping and coughing. He had been thoroughly winded from the blow. His own heart was pounding in his chest. "Have you learned your lesson yet boy?" The man bellowed to the crumpled kid in front of him. Near couldn't respond, he was desperately gasping for air. Tremors were coursing through his body. He suddenly felt another blow, directly where the first one had hit. The pain was immediate and he heard himself cry out. "Don't ignore me kid. You should learn some manners." Without giving Near any time to recover, the man continued his beating. Each blow being directed somewhere vital. Near hadn't felt the tears start tomprick in the corner of his eyes from the agony of each hit. Everything hurt so badly, he really felt like he was about to die. The man finally gave him a break, but his mind was too muffled at the moment to question why. He caught a glimpse of Wade holding something from the corner of his eye. _A… pocket knife_? "It's not fair that I'm the only one who has to bleed now is it?" The man asked psychotically. Near didn't have the energy to respond or resist, but his heart rate, which had already been pounding, was now speeding up even more. He was panicking. The man inched the knife closer to him, upping his anxiety second by second. Then suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

Mello had been watching Near for only about half an hour, or at least that's what he had assumed based on how long it felt. he had nothing on or around him to tell him the exact time so his own judgement would have to do for now. He'd been trying to keep track of any strange behavior and had just now noticed that Near was shivering slightly in his sleep. _Is he cold?_ It wouldn't have been too surprising if he was. The metal cell in which they were all being held captive wasn't exactly what you would call warm or cozy. Still, Mello had taken the responsibility to watch the younger boy in front of him, so he had to try to figure out if he was cold or if it was perhaps something else. He slowly edged closer to the white haired boy, who now seemed to be trying to slightly curl into himself again. _That can't be good for his stomach wound._ If he had a possibility for broken ribs, then these types of careless actions would only make everything worse in the long run. Mello realized this pretty quickly and tried to carefully ease Near back into a flat lying position only to notice something impossible. He almost gasped at the sight of what could only be tears._ he's…crying?_ Mello was utterly dumbfounded. He really couldn't believe what he was seeing, Near wasn't supposed to cry. He was supposed to be an emotionless freak; someone who was easy to hate. Mello continued to stare at the pale boy in front of him. _Is he… having a nightmare?_ If the blonde thought he had no idea what to do before, that feeling had a whole new meaning now. Unfortunately he'd spent too much time mulling over his shock to know what to make of the situation. He realized this fact once Near's eyes suddenly snapped open. The young boy was breathing heavily and seemed to wear a look that resembled… panic? His grey eyes glanced up only to meet Mello who was frozen like a deer in the headlights. The blonde finally snapped out of it, managing to form a few words.

"H-hey… you're safe Near…" his voice shook with uncertainty. He didn't know if this was the right thing for him to say but realized after a few seconds that these words hadn't had any negative effect on Near, so that was at least a good thing. Near managed to pull himself together on his own, slowly stabilizing his uneven breaths. the young boy lifted his trembling pale hand and after quickly wiping away his tears, let out a shaky sigh. The white haired boy felt slightly embarrassed that he'd let himself break down like that in front of Mello. Had he really been that shaken up about what happened to him? He had to admit he'd been really scared at the moment, but it was over now, so why couldn't he get his body to stop shaking. When he'd opened his eyes, words could not explain how relieved he felt when he saw Mello. He felt… somehow safe, even though this was Mello he was talking about. He knew, in his heart, that Mello wouldn't hesitate to go ahead and hurt Near himself if needed, but for some reason, when he was so shaken up with no one to turn to, Mello seemed like a viable option. _It's because I was expecting… that man to be there_, he told himself tiredly. He felt mentally and physically exhausted, but for some reason he really didn't want to close his eyes. He supposed it was because he really didn't want to relive the same event ever again, even in dream form. Once was already more than enough… Mello was starting to get a bit confused. Near seemed to be forcing himself to stay awake. Everytime the white haired boy's eyes would start to drift closed, he immediately forced them open again. Is he afraid of falling asleep? Why? Mello mulled over this for a bit before a thought suddenly hit him. If he'd been having a nightmare before, he might be refusing to sleep so that the same thing didn't happen again. If that was the case, then Mello had a strange feeling that it had to be something to do with whatever that man… Wade, did to him. He silently cursed the man in his head. Even Near didn't deserve this and with his small body looking all battered and bruised, his imagination was going crazy as to how many possible ways he could have obtained those injuries. None of them were good, but some of them were a lot worse than he'd like to think was the real cause. Mello hesitantly slid closer to the white haired boy and firmly gripped his pale hand. He felt Near stiffen a bit and then slowly blink and turn to look at him. He was suddenly feeling a bit awkward in trying to help his rival… god… this is so weird. He'd never been one to provide comfort, especially not towards Near. If anything, he would normally be the one to cause him discomfort.

"He… can't hurt you Near… I'm here so don't worry." The words seemed to slip out of his mouth, much more easily than Mello had expected them to, but then again he never thought they would slip out at all. Mello saw the result of his words when he felt the pale hand that was gripped in his own relax a bit. The white haired boy's eyes closed and he didn't open them again. Mello sighed, he himself was suddenly starting to feel tired, and his body felt a bit heavy too._ I can't sleep… I promised Matt that I'd watch him…_ The blonde yawned, this was really gonna be a long night…

* * *

"Mels… Mello, wake up!" Mello immediately woke to his name being repeated. He opened his eyes only to see Matt staring at him. Crap… I was supposed to watch him. Mello jolted up from his laying position and realized that he was still gripping Near's hand. He gently pried it off and glanced at the face of whom it belonged. The white haired boy looked pale. That was the first thing he noticed, The second thing was the realization that it was now morning. He was sure of this due to the bright light that was shining through the small barred window in their cell. He could see everything more clearly, though he couldn't tell if he should consider this a blessing or a curse. He could clearly see all the bruises on Near's body as well. He didn't even want to imagine how much worse the large one on his side would look. These thoughts were interrupted by Matt's voice, which seemed to have a slight hint of concern to it. "Mels you…" He stopped for a moment before finishing the sentence in a slightly quieter tone "you fell asleep." Mello stared at him awkwardly for a bit before realizing that Matt was probably mad at him for breaking his 'promise'.

"Yeah…. Sorry." Mello apologized. He wasn't usually one for apologies but when it came to Matt, he didn't mind as much. He knew that this was a mistake on his part anyway. Matt shook his head before speaking,

"It's fine, I just hope he was alright during the night" Mello contemplated on whether or not he should tell Matt the truth, but, in the end, decided what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. He didn't need to know about the nightmare anyway, it would probably just cause him to worry extra.

"Yeah… I was awake for most of the night and nothing out of the ordinary happened." Mello lied smoothly. He noticed Matt glance at the youngest boy for a second and then speak once again.

"I think he's waking up." The brunette exclaimed in a hushed tone. The blonde's vision cut from Matt to the white haired boy only to realize that it was true. Near made a small noise and slowly opened his eyes. Matt didn't waste any time in starting to immediately fuss over him, and Near looked almost as confused as Mello.

"Near, you feeling ok?" Asked Matt earnestly as he carefully placed a hand on his forehead to check for fever, sighing in relief when he discovered that the white haired boy was only slightly warm. Near opened his mouth and whispered hoarsely,

"I-I'm alright." It was as if his voice was contradicting what he was saying because he didn't sound alright at all. Matt looked at him in concern, but didn't pry any more. Suddenly the bars rattled harshly and the boys' eyes snapped up only to be reminded of how unsafe they really were.

"Hey kids, you miss us?" Mello resisted to shoot the man a venomous glare. The only reason he didn't was because he'd seen what had happened to Near and did not want to be delivered the same fate. The other two men entered into view as well and suddenly the man known as Wade smirked "You kids should get comfy," He said loudly, "We tried contacting your orphanage but they refused to give us the money." Mello's eyes widened. Why in the hell would they do that? He suddenly realized that Matt had started shaking next to him; he looked to be beyond scared. This wasn't good, could these men possibly be bluffing? No that wasn't likely, what would they get out of lying? Mello was staring at Wade, who, he realized wasn't looking at him. He followed the man's gaze and internally cringed when he was led to Near. What more does he want with him, hasn't he done enough already? He felt Matt protectively try and shift in front of Near, and the men noticed this immediately.

"Wade, I told you not to kill him…" deadpanned the man - Vito, Mello remembered his name to be -. Wade turned to the buffer man and scoffed,

"I didn't kill him, the brat's just overreacting." Mello could tell that these words caused Matt to fume. Matt never got mad, but when he did, it was only obvious to Mello, who knew him very well. Near wasn't overreacting, even Mello could tell that much. If anything, he was under-reacting. He hadn't once complained about the pain since he was thrown into the cell. Mello glanced at the pale boy, only to notice that he was still, as if frozen in fear. Anyone would be afraid if they were in his place. Wade grinned, an eerie aura surrounding him. He began to unlock the cell, and even Mello, at this point, was horrified. What's he gonna do? Is he… gonna hurt Near again. He didn't know why he seemed to care, but that was the least of his problems right now. He found himself subconsciously shifting in front of the white haired boy, just like Matt had done, in a pathetic attempt of protection. He heard Wade laugh and suddenly felt really mad. They were only in this position because the orphanage had failed to protect them, and now Whammys had the audacity to just ditch all three of them? Why aren't trying to save us? "If someone doesn't pay up for you kids soon, then we'll just have to kill the lot of you." Wade explained, laughing maniacally after his sentence was complete. Matt stiffened, he knew that this couldn't be bluff, seeing as though this man had already shown that he had no problem in beating Near to a pulp; killing them all probably wasn't out of the question for these psychopaths.

"Calm down" They heard the last man - who hadn't talked in a while- say. "We're just giving you some food," Mello snapped out of his trance and noticed that Randy - was that his name? - had been carrying something, granola bars… He tossed three of them into the cell, and then hesitantly tossed an extra, to which he got an annoyed look from Wade.

"Why're you giving them four, there's only three of 'em." He received a sort of glare of Vito and immediately backed down.

"That kid looks half dead and it's your fault, so you can give up one of yours." Wade huffed but didn't complain again. The men then slowly left, grumbling about money and some other stuff that Mello couldn't quite pick up on. He noticed Matt glance at him and returned the gaze, "Mels, do you think we should eat anything they give us?" it was an honest question, but his voice held a sort of edge to it and Mello knew immediately what he was trying to ask. They could have possibly poisoned the food. Mello stared at the bars in front of him, the packaging looked fine, it didn't seem to be tampered with.

"I… don't think they poisoned them. They were talking before about how one of the men had to 'give up one of his'. That means that they're eating the same thing as us. His reaction didn't look fake to me when he was angry about getting less food, and I don't think they would have any reason to poison us…" Matt nodded wide-eyed. Everything Mello was saying made sense, he was probably being paranoid, though no one could truly blame him. They had gone through quite a bit of crap in just barely - a night?-. Whatever it was, Matt seemed to be more shaken up about it than Mello, but that was to be expected since the blonde would probably rather die than show any sign of fear. Matt turned around to look at Near who hadn't talked at all. He was still laying there, pale and shaky, calmy drawing breaths.

The brunette was suddenly at Near's side, trying to push him into a sitting position by leaning him onto the cell wall. Near winced in pain every time his injury was jostled slightly due to being moved. He knew that Matt was trying his best to be as gentle as possible, but it was basically impossible for Near to move even in the slightest without being in agony. Mello wordlessy began to help Matt and they both managed to get Near into a sitting position. The white haired boy was breathing heavily by the end of it, but tried his best to disguise how bad he was actually feeling. It was so easy to mask his emotion, but physical pain was much harder to mask. Mello could tell that Near was uncomfortable sitting up, but laying on the metal ground couldn't be good for him and especially not while eating. Near choking was not another problem they needed right now. Matt grabbed one of the granola bars and carefully ripped open the packaging. Once the bar was open, he peeled the aluminum wrapping down so that only half of the bar was exposed, while the part he was holding was still covered. Once he was satisfied with the act he moved his hand close to Near's mouth as if gesturing to him to eat. Near gave him a blank stare, hiding his true nervousness. He really didn't feel like eating right now, but he knew that Matt probably wouldn't rest until he ate at least a little bit. He opened his mouth and took a small nibble of the bar before chewing for a while and swallowing. It wasn't too bad, but he didn't think he would be able to eat all of it. Mello watched the white haired boy take a few more bites before he whispered…

"I-I'm full" hoarsely. Matt stared at him sympathetically but shook his head.

"Sorry Near, but you're gonna eat both of these." Matt explained, "We have four and two of them are yours" Near shook his head stubbornly, causing Mello to sigh,

"Gimme that," Mello grumbled as he snatched the bar out of Matt's hand. Matt looked a bit surprised but otherwise didn't protest. "Eat" The blonde demanded, shoving the bar close to Near's mouth. He looked dead serious and with Near's current condition, he looked pretty intimidating to the smaller boy. Near lifted a shaky hand and tried grabbing the bar, Mello let him take it and watched as he slowly bit off a small chunk, chewed, and swallowed. Mello then opened his own bar and chewed off a bite. There were little chocolate chunks in the bar so that was a plus, at least for Mello; it already felt like he'd been too long without chocolate. He inhaled the bar very quickly and noticed that Matt was staring worriedly at Near. Following his gaze, he realized the Near looked even paler than before. He'd almost finished the bar, but Mello could tell that there was no way he would eat any more of it. Forget about eating both bars, Near couldn't even finish one.

He leaned over and gently took the almost-finished granola bar out of Near's hands. The pale boy quickly dropped his arms at his sides as soon as he no longer had a reason to hold them up. He looks terrible, thought Mello. He felt a twinge of sympathy when he looked at the boy. Not only was he frighteningly pale, but Mello could tell he was constantly hurting. His body was trembling and his breaths were shaky. He looked… ill. Without thinking, Mello reached forward and placed his hand on the pale boy's forehead. He immediately retracted the hand when he felt it burn from heat causing Matt to look at him in concern. He had a slight fever before, but this is definitely way worse. His fever went from mild to high too quickly… Without warning, Near lurched forward and started coughing, hard. Every cough left him breathless and he was in obvious pain from the pressure it put on his stomach. Matt gasped, managing to grab the pale boy as he swayed dangerously to the right. Mello sprung Into action as well, rubbing circles on Near's back as his coughs became more and more unbearable. Both boys were scared out of their minds at this happening; they'd already realized that Near was in bad shape, but right now it looked like he was… dying.

Mello suddenly became nervous, Near couldn't be dying, could he? Mello hadn't realized that he was now tightly embracing the young boy in his arms, waiting for the coughing to subside. He'd never before realized how small Near really was compared to him or even Matt, but now when he could feel his thin small body shaking in his arms, it was so painfully obvious that he couldn't help but feel terrible. He'd never thought twice before trying to hurt Near before, but with him so horribly injured like his, he almost cringed at the thought of wanting him to suffer. Mello could feel Near's heart racing in the boy's chest even as his coughs began to subside. Now there were just gasps and whimpers coming from the boy and, if he previously had any energy, it was all completely spent now. His whole body dropped and Mello felt his entire body weight collapse into him. He was light, really light, but at this moment, his light weight made Mello feel even more concerned._ He's so small, how much longer can his body even fight this off? _

He was soon pulled out of his thoughts when he felt that Near was no longer moving, neither was he making any sounds. Mello felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, no… He's not d-dead, is he? Mello slowly loosened his grip on the pale boy and laid him on the ground. He looked to be sleeping peacefully, his face almost like a porcelain doll. Dead, thought Mello before quickly shaking his head at the awful idea. Before Near had ate the granola bar, he seemed to be ok, at least as ok as someone with those injuries could possibly be. Mello had been the one who forced the white haired boy to eat them so… was this... his fault. Did I do this…? Mello felt his hands begin to shake and he clenched them tightly, glancing at Matt who looked just as, if not more scared than he did.

"Is he.." gulped Matt. The blonde teen shook his head vigorously, no, he couldn't be dead. Mello reached forward and pressed his fingers against Near's neck. Relief flooded him as he felt the weak beating of his pulse, _he was alive._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Wow... this chapter was kinda depressing. Anyway, I'm actually a lot more proud of this chapter, than i was of the other one, so I hope you all enjoy it as well! I'm at my high school right now, so I gotta go before my teacher notices... so bye my readers!**

**Also, I have a two week break due to corona virus so I might be finishing this story in that time! Stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Escape

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Neither death note nor the cover art belong to me**

* * *

L looked through files on one of his recently solved cases, carefully organizing them in a binder. He shifted his hand to the plate full of cookies next to the documents, carefully picking one up, examining it, and then plopping it into his mouth. Watari suddenly burst into the room looking concerned.

"Ryuzaki!" He exclaimed. "The orphanage just informed me of some terrible news!" This caught L's attention and he turned in his chair to face the older man. His brows knitted together once he saw the troubled expression on Watari's face.

"Go on Watari. I would like to know what exactly happened." The older man took a breath before speaking again, more calmly this time.

"Three of the kids… they've been kidnapped." Watari concluded. L's round eyes widened, no doubt a look of surprise gracing his features.

"Did they leave any clues? Any information we could use," L asked, grabbing another cookie. The man nodded grimly,

"unfortunately this was a grave mistake on the orphanage's part" L looked at him curiously.

"What? How?" He urged Watari to continue. How could this be Wammys' fault? What had they done?

"Actually, they received a call from the captors which were asking for a large sum of money in return for the kids" L raised a brow, this was an ideal situation, if they had complied with the kidnapper's request, and got the children back safely, then they could have launched an investigation to find and arrest the criminals afterwards. He was guessing that this is not the way that they had reacted, and now the situation had become more complicated.

"Did they refuse?" The black haired man asked with a slight edge to his tone. His suspicions were confirmed after he saw Watari nod. "Why would they refuse?" Questioned L, more than certain that there was no reason for them to deny the offer. Wammys was a rich company, they had a lot of money funding the materials necessary to help grow brilliant minds. L himself contributed about 50% of his earnings to the orphanage, so to find out that they hadn't used it for a good cause was agitating. Watari sighed at the question,

"They said that the sum of money they were asking of them was too large, around fifty-million dollars, if I'm not mistaken…" the black haired man looked quite taken aback by this, fifty-million dollars, yes it was a lot, but if they didn't have enough money, why hadn't the orphanage contacted him immediately? He would be willing to pay such a great price if it meant that the kids in the orphanage were safe. They had been promised they would be safe, all of them had been through too much already. L pinched the bridge of his nose before signing and asking one last question.

"If I may ask, what were the names of the kids that were captured?" The old man looked to think for a moment before remembering.

"Ah yes… You've met them before I believe. Mello, Matt and Near were their names." L immediately shot up from his chair and began frantically typing on a keyboard. _Those kids... they were the successors._ He'd met them because they were the top three students. He needed to find them quickly before anything happened. "Ryuzaki, what are you doing?" The old man wondered out loud.

"I'm just looking over some of the data I have saved on the Wammy's kids… It would be easier to find them if I could remember what they looked like." the older man smiled softly,

"Would you like me to fetch you some coffee" L, who was entranced by the information on the screen, sucking up all the knowledge possible, subconsciously replied with a,

"Yes, thank you". Before pushing aside the files he had previously been organizing and getting to work.

* * *

Near's condition seemed to get worse and worse. It was now night once again and neither of them could get a wink of sleep. Near, who was constantly coughing and gagging, as well as Mello and Matt who cringed every time one of the coughs sounded especially painful. Mello was starting to get a bit frustrated, as he hadn't slept in nearly two days. His frustration simmered down when he realized that Near's two days had probably been far worse than his own, yet he had hardly said a word mentioning that fact. Near's coughing subsided again so Mello gave sleep another chance. He was jolted awake, maybe half an hour later, to the same sound of painful coughing. He got up, only to see that Matt was already at Near's side, whispering what could only be words of comfort. Near was painfully curled into himself, shivering violently. His gasps were now mixed in with what sounded like… gurgles. Mello immediately knew that something was very wrong. He quickly reached to where Matt was, lightly pushing him aside so that he could take a look. Mello was no doctor, but he had a really bad feeling about this. He uncurled the boy in front of him, as quickly as possible while still being gentle. Both he and Matt gasped at the sight. There was… blood dripping from Near's mouth. Matt looked close to having a mental breakdown and Mello knew he had to be the one who would stay strong so that the rest of them could keep themselves together. Mello tried to get his hands to stop shaking, but ended up giving up because he knew that there were more important matters to take care of. As carefully as possible the blonde tried lifting the pale boy into a sitting position thinking that if he stayed laying down, he might end up choking on his own blood. Near gasped in pain and started to curl into himself again only to be blocked by Mello's arm. He let out a soft grunt and heard Matt's voice calling to him. Trying to get him to calm down he supposed, everything was so muffled and painful, he had no idea how to process information properly anymore. Mello finally finished sitting Near up, and was so grateful for the small victory; He really didn't know how much longer he could handle Near being in pain like he was. Mello rubbed Near's back gently, and then glanced at his face, noticing that his skin was ashen and his eyes had a glazed look to them. How'd everything turn for the worst like this so quickly, Mello wondered grimly. He looked to Matt who had a horrified look on his face, He was still shocked that Near had been coughing up blood. Mello himself hadn't gotten over it, his mind was racing, filled with all the horrible things that this had to mean. If he's coughing blood… that has to be because he has some sort of internal injury right? It was as if their current situation wasn't screwed up enough! Chances of them ever being saved we're becoming dimmer and dimmer, and if Near didn't get proper medical care, for whatever was wrong with him, soon, he would probably… Mello stopped himself before saying the word. He should be thinking positively right? Bad thoughts wouldn't do them any good right now, he should stick to being positive… at least to keep his own sanity. Near had once again become unresponsive, but suddenly Mello wasn't feeling up to sleeping anymore.

* * *

L sipped his coffee, rereading some of the important information he had just collected. He had somehow managed to convince Watari into letting him take a look at the video footage recorded by the cameras at Wammys. Of course he only needed the footage from the night of the incident so it wasn't too much to look through. With this He was now searching through the video feveranty in hopes of finding some clues. The footage was recorded at night so it was difficult to see anything and being absolutely positive of what was seen. He switched to the footage that was recorded directly outside of the orphanage and saw the car directly outside of it. These guys had to be amateurs to make such a bold move. He carefully zoomed into the license plate number, which was thankfully in the perfect angle to be visible enough to read. The license plate read, 0222LM, and L didn't waste any time in quickly jotting down the number. He felt a grin slide onto his lips, he was a step closer to finding the kids and saving them from whatever hell they were facing right now. His smile faded at the thought, he really hoped that nothing bad had happened to them. They'd been missing for two days now, and a lot of horrifying things can happen in that time. He let go of the grim thought, instead deciding to focus back to his work.

* * *

Mello hadn't slept a wink the entire night but he was thankful that Near hadn't awoken and been in any sort of pain again. He'd been constantly monitoring the younger ones and didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary. Matt was cuddled in the corner of the cell, directly next to Near, who was leaning against Matt as well. He has been shivering in his sleep so Mello had scooched next to him in hopes of using his own body heat to keep him a bit more comfortable. It was a pathetic attempt, he knew, but right now that didn't matter. With what they had right now, this was the best he could do. Mello glanced at the window above their cell, noting that there was some light shining through the bars. _I guess it's morning again._ Mello then saw Matt begin to shift and mumble something which caused him to furrow his brows in confusion. Then the burnett's eyes snapped open and he shot up from his position on the ground. Mello stared at him and blinked while he sat there trying to steady his breathing. _What's with all the nightmares? Near had one last night and now Matt too… Maybe there's something in the air, I'm the only one that hasn't had a nightmare so far and it would be impossible for me _to _have one considering I've barely slept at all!_

"Matt… you okay?" The blonde asked in a hushed tone, he received no response so he tried again. "Matt…?" This time the brunette turned to look at him with wide fearful eyes.

"Mels… We're n-not gonna m-make it out of here alive are we…?" Matt whispered, his voice breaking. Mello froze, he'd been so busy trying to pull everyone else together that their unlikely chances of survival had slipped his mind entirely. Wammys had refused to pay the money, and so now they were either going to all be killed or sold somewhere. _But… Near will definitely be killed because of his horrible condition. _Mello shakily ran his hand through his hair. Was everything he'd been doing to ensure that they would all make it out of here alive… _in vain? _His thoughts were cut off by a voice.

"M-mello…" It was a hoarse whisper and Mello's eyes shot directly towards the target. Near.

"What's wrong, does anything hurt…?" The blonde questioned worriedly, which caused the white haired boy to take a breath and respond.

"Y-yeah, but… that's not… i-important…" Near wheezed out. Mello gawked at him, what else could possibly be important then?

"Near... you shouldn't be talking" Matt quietly said, which resulted in Near shaking his head.

"N-no…I need to s-say this..." the white haired boy ended his sentence with a soft cough causing Mello and Matt to exchange concerned glances. "I-I'm most likely… n-not going to l-live through t-this…" He whispered hoarsely. Matt stared at him with an aghast expression coloring his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he didn't want to believe it. They _all _had to make it out of here alive; He wouldn't accept it _any_ other way. Mello looked just as horrified at the thought.

"What are you _saying _Near! We're all going to survive because someone is going to come for us!" It was a lie, plain and simple. Mello didn't know when he had become such an optimist, but he didn't care either. If Near were to die, he knew that he'd be Whammys' new top student, as well as L's first choice for a successor, but for some reason, the thought seemed so revolting that he almost wanted to puke. To become first, just because Near was no longer there; that wasn't the way the blonde wanted to be the best. He wanted to prove that he was better than Near, yes, but he could never do that if he was _dead._ These were all selfish thoughts, he knew, but it was much easier to convince himself into believing that this was the only reason he resented the idea of the white haired boy dying like this, than to admit to himself that he was actually beginning to care for him. He was only just beginning to realize how stupid it had been to hate someone just because they were better than him. Now that he was thinking back on it, Near had never rubbed his superiority in his face at all. He had just kept his test results to himself, Mello had been the one to always force a peek at them. Was it too _late _to make up for all that unfair treatment. He had to make this right between them so… _Near has to survive. _He glanced at the white haired boy who hadn't responded to the blonde's sudden outburst. He had just sighed quietly and slumped to his side.

All of a sudden there were loud footsteps and the man from before, Wade, was fumbling with his keys, rushing to open the cell. _What's going on...?_ Something had definitely happened. The man's change of demeanor since they saw him last gave it away. He was panicking. _Had someone actually come for them? Is that why he was rushing, so that they could move us somewhere else? _Mello didn't have time to ask these questions because as soon as their cell door had swung open, the man hadn't hesitated in strutting through it and roughly grabbing Near. He hoisted the pale boy onto his shoulder without paying mind to him gasping in pain.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Mello yelled without thinking. The man shot him a glare.

"Shut the hell up you brat! We have to get going now, someone called the cops here!" Mello's eyes widened. So he _was _right; someone had come to save them!

"Stop starin' at me and _move!" _The man yelled suddenly, pulling out a gun from the side of his belt and aiming it at Near. "If you don't move, he _dies._" Before he could even have a chance to react, Mello felt his arm get grabbed by someone, no, Matt. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts, they had to follow him, or else Near would die. "Good. Now follow me, and if I see you boys try anything funny, this white hair brat gets the bullet." Wade growled before bursting into a sprint with Matt and Mello following closely behind.

* * *

L walked out of the police car analyzing the condition of the place the evidence had led him to. It was a prison, and seemed to have been abandoned for some time now as the grass around the building had grown and moss was beginning to cake it's stone surface. The police were already inside, checking for the children, but L had a feeling that this inspection was taking too long. The police had been here for half an hour by now, and hadn't given him any sort of news about the kids. In this amount of time, the criminals had most definitely found a way to escape the building _with_ the kids. Everything he had done so far would be in vain if they had already had enough time to cover their tracks.

"Sir! We found something!" One of the police officers explained, leading L to an open area inside of the building. He noticed the cells lined up side by side only being separated by their own stone walls. The first cell is what caught his attention though. The other ones seemed to be completely unused, but not this one. He walked in, noticing a small pool of dried blood. His suspicions of this were confirmed when he noticed a single strand of hair on the ground. _White_. That pure white strand could only belong to Near; The boy who was first in line to succeed him. They had taken the kids and escaped as soon as they saw the police cars. _Damn it,_ L cursed_._

* * *

They had been running for a while now. Currently, they seemed to be in some sort of forest that was directly behind the prison itself. Matt looked to be completely out of breath but Mello was still going strong, his athletic ability finally being given a moment to shine. He slowed down intentionally, to match Matt's pace so that the brunette wouldn't be left behind. They couldn't tell whether or not Near was ok at this point. He hadn't moved at all since the man had picked him up. _He probably got knocked unconscious… That guy holding him like that would put a lot of pressure on his stomach, and the bruise… _Mello felt nauseous thinking about it. Suddenly the man came to a halt, and placed Near down. Matt and Mello quickly caught up and then stopped running as well. Mello glanced at Matt who was gasping for air. His vision then cut to the man who was now dangerously close to Near.

"What's up with this kid? He dead or something?" The man barked. Mello felt panic rise in the pit of his stomach. No _way, _he told himself; there was no way that Near was dead. He rushed up to the white haired boy quickly and placed two fingers on his neck, feeling for a pulse. _Nothing. _His heart was pounding now, but he didn't give up. He pushed his fingers harder, gasping when got the same result. He was on the verge of crying now, tears welling up in his eyes, but he ignored them. _Near isn't dead_, he told himself repeatedly. He wasn't about to give up on the younger boy so easily. He lowered his fingers to the Near's pale wrist, frantically feeling for the beat, eyes widening when he finally felt something. A weak, wavering pulse; It was small but it was there. Mello let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding and wiped his watery eyes. Matt had somehow managed to find the strength to run over to them both and was now panting next to the blonde.

"H-he's not d-dea- '' Mello cut him off before he could even finish the last word.

"No… he's alive" the blonde whispered.

"Well that's good to hear," Wade boomed, "The market wouldn't wanna pay for a corpse, would they now?" The man cackled and snorted at his own words. He laughed so hard that he almost lost his balance even while sitting on the ground. This time Mello couldn't take it anymore, without warning, he rolled his arm back and shot it forward punching the man in the jaw with all of his might. The man howled in pain, falling to his side, hand protectively clenching at his mouth. Before he was able to get up to retaliate, the blonde had already taken action, grabbing the gun the man had clipped onto his belt and aiming it directly at him. His hand was shaking but he refused to think twice about what he was about to do. He placed his finger on the trigger and shot, each bullet hitting the man. His chest, his arms, his legs. He was now covered in multiple bullet wounds. Matt watched wide-eyed as his best friend shot the man repeatedly. He ran up to Mello and grabbed him around the waist in a pathetic attempt to get him to stop,

"Mels!" He yelled… " Mels you've gotta stop… please" he was openly sobbing onto Mello's back now, not even noticing that Mello _had, _in fact, stopped shooting. Mello tossed the gun onto the ground, far away from the writhing man.

"Matt, we're gonna have to run back." He explained urgently to the brunette. Matt nodded, rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeve to try and dry his tears. Mello bent down and tucked his arms under Near, carefully lifting him up. He was more than surprised when Near coughed and curled up again causing both him and the blonde to fall back onto the ground. The pale boy coughed and gagged until, what could only be, bile mixed with blood escaped his lips disgracefully. Mello grabbed him before he fell into the revolting puddle of puke. The blonde rubbed his back soothingly but the white haired boy did nothing but gasp painfully, failing to gather enough oxygen. Mello couldn't help but feel worried when he saw the trail of blood dripping from Near's pale lips. _He's getting worse by the second, I can't afford to waste any time. _

"Near, I'm gonna carry you ok?" Mello whispered gently, trying again to pick up the trembling boy in front of him. Near didn't protest; or rather, he was too weak _to_ protest. At this point, all he could feel was fatigue overwhelming his body. His eyes were starting to droop and he was beginning to succumb to the darkness. Mello acted immediately and carefully scooped him up again, making sure to avoid causing him any unnecessary pain. He subconsciously noted how Near was extremely light. Mello had assumed that running with another person's body weight would be really difficult. This probably would have been the case, in fact, if not for the white haired boy's lack of weight making it a lot easier for him. Mello glanced behind him to check on Matt, sighing with relief when he saw that the brunette had somehow managed to pull himself together in the time it had taken the blonde to coax the white haired boy into his hold. He took one last look at the form of the man he had shot ruthlessly, bleeding on the ground, before he started running in the direction they had come from. If they could make it back quick enough, then the police might still be investigating. Near needed some medical attention right now. The police would know what to do.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Guys, I know I'm torturing Near too much, but don't worry, things will get better:**

**...before getting worse again...**

**Wow, I'm mean.**

**Bonus -**

**Matt: heyyyy why am I such a crybaby in this story?!**

**Mello: because that's how you normally are.**

**Matt: NO! Prove it!**

**Mello: *snatches Matt's game* I wonder what will happen if I delete all of your progress...**

**Matt: NOOOOOOO *Sobs***

**Mello: Wow... That's all it took**

**Near: Well Matt, at least you're not dying...**

**Mello: ...**

**Matt: ... Yeah, actually I'm glad I'm not Near...**


	5. Chapter 5 - Help

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Neither Death Note nor the cover art are my own... even though I envy the talent of the creators that made both of them... **

* * *

It had been a half an hour since the men had discovered the blood and hair inside of the first cell. L was starting to get frustrated with the cops, as they were moving too slowly. There were so many areas to check, but they hadn't even finished checking through the first floor of the prison. The car L had seen in the video footage outside of Wammy wasn't anywhere present. That could only mean that the men had managed to escape, so the best course of action right now should be to search areas nearby to find the car with the same licence plate. He'd even presented this idea to the officers, yet they insisted on finishing the investigation on the entire building first. L sighed, glancing at his watch clumsily. It was 1pm now meaning it had been more or less three days since the boys had been taken. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried for them. He couldn't imagine how scared they must be, especially when Wammy refused to pay the money. _They probably feel as if they have no hope..._ L was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a cop yell for the others to come. His voice seemed pretty far away, and L noticed a couple of the cops make their way behind the large building. He let his curiosity get the better of him and decided to follow. When he reached them, he noticed that there was a large number of cops gathered around something. He pushed in for a closer look, and couldn't believe what he saw. It was the kids. they were… _Alive_. Matt was panting on the ground, while Mello sat on the ground with Near firmly gripped in his arms. They looked to be in terrible shape, especially Near, who seemed ready to contradict L's previous statement about them being alive. One of the cops had called the ambulance to their location while a female cop seemed to be trying to comfort the shaken up kids. L stepped forward past the swarm of rushing police men and stared at the children with worry. He had known prior to this moment that something could have happened to them throughout their capture time. Despite this, he had still hoped that by some miracle, they were all perfectly well. His hopes, unfortunately, hadn't been answered. He felt horrible seeing all three of the kids in such bad condition. They didn't even seem to notice he was until the blonde boy finally looked up, acknowledging his presence with a gasp.

"_L…" _he mouthed, eyes widening when he realized that the man in front of him wasn't an apparition, but actually there. The black haired man kneeled down worriedly glancing at the white haired boy that Mello had just silently handed to the woman trying to help them_. _L was shocked to see the blood that was dribbling from the youngest boy's mouth. He concealed his concern knowing that if the other two kids saw that he was anxious right now, it would only make everything more scary for them. Instead, he leaned forward and gave them both a warm embrace. He felt them shaking In his arms and released the hug only to notice that Mello refused to let go of him. There were tears trailing down the blonde boy's cheeks and L felt his shirt getting soaked as the kid continued crying on him. Rather than complaining, he tightened his grip on the blonde boy, letting him finally have a chance to break down. There was no doubt about it. All of them were terribly shaken up from this ordeal, and I felt personally responsible. These kids were promised a safe place to live when they were taken into Wammys. Nothing like this should have happened while they were in the custody of the staff at the orphanage. He felt like he had lost trust in his only home as he held Mello tightly in his arms. No matter how smart these kids were, they were still just kids. No kid should have to go through whatever hell they had just faced. L silently vowed to make everything right for them. He wasn't about to let this happen ever again.

* * *

The ambulance had arrived shortly after the kids had been discovered. Mello had finally let go of L's shirt, silently drying his tears while Matt placed a hand on his shoulder. They had escaped, but for some reason, Mello felt even more horrible than when they were trapped in that cell. This wasn't over yet. He couldn't allow himself to be relieved until it was confirmed that Near had come out of this whole ordeal, alive and well. There were now nurses surrounding him and Matt, carefully checking for any wounds. They constantly asked if they were in any type of pain, earning no response. Mello kept his focus on Near, who was already being taken into the ambulance on a stretcher. He tried to push through the crowd of paramedics and officers to get to him.

'Kid, calm down," one of the male nurses said firmly, "Tell me if you have any injuries." Mello shook his head violently, and again tried to push past the man again. The man secured his arms tightly, not allowing him to move.

"W-What are you doing!" Mello yelled, "L-let me go!" The nurses were now all staring him down in confusion.

"We're only trying to help, why are you running away from us?" The male nurse questioned. _Because I'm not the one who needs help. Near is probably afraid right now, I've gotta be with him. _This is what he wanted to say, but none of it came out. He ended up just breaking down in angry sobs as the ambulance in which Near was in, drove away. Apparently the paramedics had called L to get control of him, because a few seconds later, he felt someone wrap him in an embrace.

"Mello, he's going to be fine… Calm down" L whispered gently. Mello's voice broke as he replied quietly,

"L, we've gotta go… He's alone," Matt and L were left shocked at his words. Mello had never in his life cared for Near. It was highly known that he hated Near with a passion. Where could these words possibly be coming from? What could possibly have happened during their time captured, that would cause Mello to be concerned about his rival. Even Matt seemed to be confused, which meant that Mello had to have experienced something that he hadn't consulted even his best friend about. know something that he hadn't revealed to the brunette. Though this question remained unanswered, L suddenly felt another one hit him. How _had _the children escaped? The men couldn't have just let them go, could they? He had to ask...

"Mello, we're going to go to the hospital to see Near soon, but for now… please tell me." L took a breath before continuing, "How in the world did you manage to escape?" He asked. Matt's face seemed to go pale, and he didn't respond, even Mello seemed to look slightly… ashamed?

"I…" Mello started, he looked down and continued in a lower voice, "I shot him… the man that hurt Near." Both of the kids were surprised to see that L didn't look shocked or angry. He just calmly nodded and stood up, causing Mello and Matt to do the same.

"Mello… I understand why you did what you did. This action falls under self defense and the police will take care of it from here. For now, I just want you both to give your testimony to the officers." L stated, reassuring the boys. "I also understand that you both want to see Near, so I promise that after you have talked to the officers, I will personally drive you both to the hospital." L knew that it wasn't right to question the kids so much right after such a traumatic experience, but this was the only way they could pass justice onto the criminals involved as quickly as possible. Both Matt and Mello nodded at this idea and L sighed in relief. Right on point with his timing, the chief of the police force, Soichiro Yagami, came into view. He smiled at the children sympathetically, motioning them to follow him to the police car. Once they were all seated in the car, he started driving.

"I'm going to take you boys to the police station for a bit. We're going to ask you a few questions when you get there and please tell us everything that you remember about what happened." He had a firm voice, yet he seemed trustworthy, at least to Mello and Matt.

* * *

When they arrived at the police station, they were taken to a private room occupied only by officer Yagami. He was in fact the person who was going to question them for the case. Both of the kids were given some food and drinks while L was given a seat and offered some coffee. After they had eaten their fill of the food Mello hastily told his whole side of the story, allowing Matt to add details that the brunette saw fit to include. Mr. Yagami noted down most of this information while L listened with dismay. He was not happy with the extent of horrors all three of the boys had to go through. He was especially worried for Near though. When Matt explained that the man had taken Near away and upon being brought back, he'd been covered with wounds, the raven haired man suddenly felt really protective. He was worried that the man might have done more than just the damage they could see at the moment; something unspeakable. He really hoped that he was just overthinking and this wasn't true in the slightest.

The questioning didn't last too long, only about forty-five minutes. The officers had taken pity upon the shaken up kids and decided to conclude it quickly. They had, though, informed L that the police might need to ask them more questions later on, so he should be prepared to bring them back at all times. He hadn't hesitated to say yes. As soon as they walked out of the police station, there was a large limousine stationed outside waiting for them. The boys gaped at the sight, as they had never before seen such an expensive looking car. A man walked out of the car and walked over to their side. He opened the door for L to get into the front seat, and then allowed the kids to step into the rear seats. He then hopped into the driver's seat without a word at all. Matt and Mello were still gushing over all the new features in this car, it was a short lived happiness as they both remembered where they were going soon enough. The mood of the car dimmed again, and even the driver seemed to notice, who chimed in to lighten the atmosphere.

"How old are you kids?" He asked cheerily. Mello was a bit surprised to be dragged out of his worries. He glanced at Matt who seemed to be equally surprised, and since he wasn't responding, Mello decided he would be the first.

"I'm fourteen, and so is Matt." Mello responded. The man passed them a genuine smile and continued. He was getting a small look of approval from L who also seemed glad to have someone attempt to distract the boys from their grim thoughts.

"Are you both doing well in your studies?" The man asked in a sort of teasing way, not to be confused with rudeness.

"Oh yeah, Mello and I are one of the top students in our school!" Matt explained "We're also best friends so we help each other study when needed! Mello is really good at everything honestly. He's super smart and also super strong!" Matt seemed to be ranting at this point, it wasn't exactly a bad thing though. Both him and Mello were distracted, Mello being too busy nervously denying every compliment that Matt gave him while Matt continued showering him with more. The car ride flew by a lot faster than it would have without the distracting words. Before they knew it, they had already arrived outside of the hospital. The mood was definitely better than it previously had been and L, especially, had been grateful for that. He really didn't like seeing these kids upset. Especially when he felt responsible for not being able to help them sooner. L stepped out of the car first, being anxiously followed by the two boys. They weren't as tense as before, but still worried. Once they got into the building, L immediately walked over to the reception desk, probably asking about any status reports on Near. while he was talking, Matt and Mello fidgeted in their seats, silently wishing that L would come back with some good news. Although it felt like an hour it had only been a couple of minutes, and L had returned to them with a doctor by his side. The doctor gave them both a gentle smile and sat in a seat in front of them. Mello and Matt were both curious, was he going to tell them some good news, or… No, Near couldn't be… He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear the doctor introduce himself.

"Hello, I'm doctor Gevanni. I've been taking care of your friend Near." The man's voice was gentle and they could tell he was trying to make sure that they wouldn't freak out. That could only mean that there was something that they wouldn't want to hear though….

"Is he alive?" Asked Mello immediately. He really was out of patience with their whole situation. Right now all he wanted was for this man to tell him that Near was alive, and would make a full recovery. Then everything could finally go back to normal. He could go back to Wammys with Matt, go back to studying and back to wanting to be number one... That's all he wanted right now, nothing more and nothing less.

"Yes, he is alive. It's a miracle actually, the wounds inflicted on the boy were horrifying. He had internal bleeding and broken ribs. If you had arrived a bit later, one of the ribs could have punctured his heart or lungs." The man explained solemnly. Of course, this kind of diagnosis would only make these kids feel even worse than they already did, so the man sighed and continued to a more important topic. Unfortunately, although necessary to discuss, this wasn't much of a lighter subject. "I don't suppose that your friend had anything to eat while you were all captured?" so he knows about how Near ended up in this condition; L must have told him that we were kidnapped.

"Umm, yeah" Matt replied hesitantly, "he ate a granola bar…" Mello recalled that memory, after all he had been the one to force the white-haired boy into eating it. The man nodded at this, and then started talking once again.

"Yes… I believe that he could have been allergic to something inside of that bar. He might have been feeling a bit ill afterwards. Do you recall that?" Mello's eyes widened. He did fall sick right after he ate the bar... This was my fault all along. He was allergic. He was refusing to eat it… He probably knew that he was allergic and I still refused to listen to him, and now… both the man and Matt seemed to notice his distress. L seemed to be busy talking on his phone and making some sort of reservations, but he too would have noticed if he weren't so focused on his current task.

"Mels, it's fine, you didn't know." Matt whispered. Mello shook his head."It doesn't matter Matt. He didn't want it, and I still forced him to eat it! It's my fault." Matt grabbed his arm and gripped him tightly, causing Mello to look his way in confusion.

"You were only trying to help. You made a mistake, sure, and even though he ended up suffering more because of it, he's still alive Mello. Once you get the chance, just apologize to him for it. He'll forgive you for sure." Mello shook his head violently.

"And just how do you know that!? He has no reason to forgive me so how do you know that he will? I've always hurt him, so he should hate me by now!" At this point L joined the conversation with a soft smile on his lips.

"He'll forgive you Mello, and don't think that way because he's never ever hated you. He's looked up to you more than you know." Mello started feeling a bit embarrassed now, once he realized that the doctor was still there. This long overdue conversation was happening in front of a complete stranger. The doctor grinned nervously.

"Yes, I'll leave you three alone for now, a nurse will come and give you any more reports on your friend," the man stood up and gracefully left. Once the man had left, Mello looked down at his feet. He felt horrible. How could Near look up to someone like him. After all I put him through, just because I wanted to be first. Why did it seem so stupid now? Mello had always tormented Near for something he couldn't control. Yes he was smarter, but why did that even matter? Now that he brought himself to think about it, he would have hated Near even more if the boy had forced himself to fail his classes purposely just so that Mello could be first. He didn't want to be looked down upon like that! There had never been any possible way for Near to get out of Mello hating him. No matter how hard the boy could try, Mello would always be able to find something to get mad about. Now that he was realizing these things, it was finally dawning on him. He didn't want to go back to hating Near, he had no reason left to hate him… But now, Near had every reason to hate Mello. That's what hurt the most. The blonde boy could feel tears prick at the corners of his eyes, but quickly wiped them away before anyone would notice.

"Matt, and um… L, I'm gonna make it up to Near." The blonde stated quietly. Despite the wavering in his voice, Mello sounded confident in what he had just stated. He could see Matt's eyes widen and even L seemed to look a bit surprised at his words. Something had to have happened between them for Mello to change this drastically. But… I suppose good things can come out of bad situations, thought L. He was glad at the sudden change of heart from Mello. If Near and Mello worked together, he was sure that they could both be an unstoppable team. Even Matt seemed to be proud of his friend, suddenly reaching forward and giving Mello a big hug. Mello was confused at first, but soon melted into the embrace. L watched with a fond smile, and let them have their little moment. They deserved at least this much after everything they had had to endure. Without warning, popped out of nowhere with a neutral expression on her face.

"You both are Near's brothers I presume?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Thank you to everyone who is still with this story! Just to let you know, I have been proof reading previous chapters closely and have begun to notice a lotttt of errors in my writing. I have changed a lot of the first two chapters but the first one has probably been the most thoroughly edited. Once I edit the chapters, I'm just going to replace the old ones with the new ones. If anything seems a bit plothole-ish, it's because I edited the chapter after you guys read them... If that makes any sense... Well anyway ONTO THE BONUS...**

**BONUS:**

**L: so... how did you both manage to escape?**

**Mello: I KILLED THE DUDE THAT HURT NEAR *screeching***

**L: How many bullets...?**

**Mello: SIX I THINK**

**L: Well Mello, I'd say that was a job well done. *Pats head***

**Matt: ... wAt!? **


	6. Chapter 6 - Aftermath

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I do not own death note or the cover art owo**

* * *

"You both are Near's brothers I presume?" Both boys looked extremely bewildered at this statement but before they could correct the woman, L nodded and replied,

"Yes, and I am their guardian," Both Matt and Mello turned to look at him as if he'd grown a second head. Thankfully, though, they didn't object to anything he said. It had to be some sort of fake story that could justify their interest in his condition. The nurse nodded and then continued with whatever she was going to say.

"Ok, we have managed to stabilize Near's condition. His wounds were nearly fatal, so we've made quite a bit of progress in helping him live through this. He's currently receiving surgery to help mend his broken ribs and this surgery is to last a few more hours. After the surgery, he will most likely be knocked out for a while, meaning that you all should leave for now and then come back tomorrow to see him." The nurse was extremely direct, maybe even a little bit rude, but what she said did seem to make sense. After all, Near wasn't going to recover from days of damage in a matter of minutes anyway. L nodded,

"I understand, we will come back tomorrow," The pale man stated solemnly. He gently grabbed both Mello and Matt's hands and took them outside to where the car was still stationed.

"Wait… L, I-" Mello was quickly interrupted,

"I know." The black-haired man sighed before continuing, "I know you want to stay and be there when he wakes up but you have to understand that being in there, worried sick for hours, is not good for either of you. You need to take care of yourselves as well, which is something both of you have forgotten about because you are too focused on things that you cannot control" L took a breath and then continued his speech, "I'm very proud of all three of you for working your way out of this mess. Now please, I want you to get some rest as well. We'll come back to see Near tomorrow early in the morning before he even wakes up, so don't trouble yourselves about that." Both Matt and Mello reluctantly agreed to leave and come back tomorrow. They knew that L was right. They _had_ forgotten to take care of themselves because they were too worked up about Near. Mello felt like he didn't deserve to look after himself. After all, he was part of the reason that Near suffered more than he could have. He cringed at the self-deprecating thought. _I'm not the same anymore though, I'll prove it._

Once they were all seated in the car, neither Mello nor Matt knew exactly where they were headed. After all, the only place they had ever called home couldn't have cared less about what they had been through. Even when they asked L where they were headed, he only replied by saying that they would find out soon enough. He wasn't wrong, because soon enough, they did find out. Both boys peeked out the window once the car had completely stopped moving, only to notice that they were parked in the driveway of a hotel. _Oh, that makes more sense now, _thought Mello. L was first to get out of the car, and the kids trailed behind him as he made his way inside. He seemed to know the person at the counter, who eagerly offered him the keys almost immediately. Matt and Mello looked around the place in awe. It was so shiny and huge. Everything looked like it was high quality and what was more surprising was how the people there were dressed. They were all wearing fancy clothes, with ties and whatnot. The trio looked kind of out of place here, but L didn't seem to mind one bit, so both Mello and Matt continued following him to wherever he was leading them. He stopped at a door in the hallway and then unlocked it with the keys he had received earlier. The door opened, only to reveal the most lavish looking room that either of the kids had ever seen. It was so huge and open that it looked like it belonged to a super famous actor or model. Not only that, but there were multiple beds here as well.

"I reserved this room especially for us while we were at the hospital." L explained, "you both have your own beds, right over there" L pointed to the twin beds that were right next to each other. They looked really comfy, and it was right about now that Mello realized how exhausted he really was. He hadn't slept in _days_. L had noticed his exhaustion right away and pointed towards what could only be the bathroom, "both of you, wash up and then go to sleep. I had the staff prepare a change of clothes for you both. The clothes were provided by the hotel, so please understand that they might not be the best fit." Mello didn't mind what type of clothes he was wearing, as long as they were clean and comfy. Matt didn't seem to mind either, he just nodded and walked to the bathroom.

"Mels, you can go first, I insist," Matt said to his friend kindly. Mello shook his head, "no, no it's ok, you can go," L started laughing lightly, causing them both to turn to look at him.

"There's no need for that, there are two full bathrooms in this room," he explained, pointing to the other side of the room, which also had a door. Both boys looked down in embarrassment and then headed into the separate bathrooms glad to finally be able to get clean.

* * *

Mello had finished with his shower first, but that was to be expected considering Matt always took longer doing whatever he did in there. _Probably trying to swim in the bathtub or something. _Mello walked out only to see L was sitting on his bed, with a computer in his lap, typing furiously on the keyboard. He silently walked over and sat next to him, mulling over whether or not he should say something.

"Are you thinking about what happened at the hospital?" L whispered. Mello whipped his head to face L when he realized that the man was talking to him.

"Yeah, I- … you said that Matt, Near and I were brothers, and then followed that up by saying that you were our… guardian. I mean-" L nodded at what he said and then interrupted him before he could continue.

"I understand, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, it was just an alibi to draw suspicion away from us,"

"No, I wasn't uncomfortable, I- I actually kinda wish things were that way," Mello suddenly explained in a hushed tone. L smiled widely, he looked really happy.

"Do you mean that Mello?" He asked, still grinning. The blonde looked away, starting to feel nervous. _He's probably gonna laugh at me. _

"I think it would be sick if all of us were bros!" Matt yelled suddenly. Mello jolted from the sudden loudness and then gaped when he realized what he had heard.

"Well I suppose it's settled then," L stated, "I believe I should adopt all three of you" the raven-haired man explained happily. Mello was overwhelmed at how fast everything was moving. _first I get kidnapped and now I'm gonna be adopted? What is happening right now?! _L realized that Mello seemed to become unusually silent after this statement. The man decidedly placed a comforting hand on the blonde boy's shoulder.

"Mello, I'm not going to force you into this. You can refuse if you would prefer to stay in the orphanage," Mello stared up to L with wide eyes and then spoke nervously,

"No I- this is…" He shook his head to clear his mind, "I'm really happy, I just have no clue how to express it." Both of them laughed at his bluntness. Mello looked at them incredulously, "Hey, what's so funny?" He asked, lightly punching Matt in the shoulder.

"Nothing, it's just, I've never seen you look so dumbfounded before," He explained, still lightly chuckling.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed that while you could, cuz it's not happening again," Mello exclaimed, reaching forward to grab the brunette who immediately ran away.

"Oop, well I guess you're back to normal again," Matt laughed, dodging the slipper that Mello threw at him. L watched in amusement from the sidelines as the two chased each other. They eventually tired eachother out, just as L had suspected they would.

"Alright you two, go to sleep now," Both of them did not protest at this demand, just sluggishly walked over to their own separate beds and fell asleep almost instantly. Mello seemed to be already snoring lightly in his slumber. L sighed, almost in relief. He was glad that they were safe. As bad as whatever they had gone through was, it could have been a lot worse and they could have ended up dead. It's a miracle that they're able to smile and laugh like this after going through so much trauma. L stood up, walking over to the light switch and clicking it off. The darkness of the room was like a blanket, covering them all allowing a comforting sleep for the first time in a while.

* * *

Near woke up to a flock of surgeons surrounding him, he instantly felt panicked and attempted to sit up, but they forced him back down onto the table. Then suddenly a wave of pain hit his body, he looked down to see that there were scalpels covered in blood, and a large incision on his stomach. He almost choked on air at the sight, _I'm being… operated on..._

"Whoever gave him the sedative didn't give him the right one, he isn't supposed to be awake already." A doctor explained, angrily. Near was breathing heavily now, he could feel the wound burning painfully, and the doctors were giving him a stern look as if to shock him into staying still. He couldn't talk because of the oxygen mask or move whatsoever, and so with all these people over him, he couldn't help but feel terrified. "Prepare another sedative quickly!" Yelled the doctor. The nurses were quickly on the move, scurrying away to grab another sedative. Near's heart rate was accelerating now, and the beeps of the heart monitor became more frequent. Even with the help of the oxygen mask he felt like he could hardly breath. _I'm panicking… I need to calm down. _He knew this, but he couldn't get his mind and body to sync. _I want Mello, or Matt… Someone... please. _He felt alone and scared. It wasn't as if this was a new feeling to him, but he couldn't stand it. He suddenly felt a prick in his arm causing darkness to envelope him and his mind to go blank.

* * *

L hadn't slept the whole night, that wasn't something out of the ordinary for him, but tonight it was for a reason. Not long after both Matt and Mello had managed to fall asleep, he had received a call from the hospital explaining that Near had awoken mid-surgery. This was concerning to say the least, but more angering to know that the surgeons hadn't done their job right. The only reason for him to awaken would be if they hadn't given him an adequate dose of the sedative. The boy had suffered enough trauma and he couldn't imagine how afraid he would be to wake up with people all around operating on him. This news had to be kept from the other kids for now, the amount of worrying they were already doing wasn't healthy, and he wasn't going to play any part in making it worse. The detective glanced at the time, realizing that it was 8 AM. He knew that he should wake the kids up if they wanted to reach the hospital, but they looked so peaceful sleeping that he couldn't bring himself to. Not only this, but he knew that they hadn't been getting enough sleep lately due to everything that had happened. L watched in amusement as Mello rolled over on his bed, and then suddenly fell off. The detective gasped, and then ran over to check on him. The blonde boy groaned and sat up, rubbing his head.

"So… are we… going now?" He asked sluggishly. L nodded, walking over to Matt's bed to wake him, only to realize that he was already awake.

"Yea… Let's go!" Matt yelled, a bit too loud, causing Mello to flinch and then glare at him with annoyance. "Sorry," the brunette said, more quietly this time.

"Alright then, first let's eat breakfast and then we can go…" The detective stated firmly. Both of the boys weren't fond of the idea of wasting any time but when they saw the look on L's face, they knew that he wouldn't make any acceptions. The kids reluctantly agreed.

After breakfast, both boys had eagerly rushed outside and quickly seated themselves inside the lavish long car. Once L was seated, the car began to move. L could tell that the kids seemed to be in a much better mood now, than they were yesterday, and that had to be because they knew that Near was alive. Mello, though, did seem to be a bit nervous, but L had a hunch that it was because he still believed that Near wouldn't forgive him. _Well, my comfort here will probably not have any effect. On the contrary, if Near were to forgive him, that would most likely make him feel much better. _Either way, they just had to wait until they got to the hospital.

* * *

As soon as the building of the hospital came into view, both boys started staring at it, wide-eyed. They were so close to finally seeing if Near was alright, but they knew that whatever he had gone through could have possibly scarred him mentally as well. If that was the case then they both would have to work hard to get Near back to his normal self. After all, phycological damage can't be healed with surgeries or medicines. The car parked into the lot, and L was the first to step out, once again being followed by Matt and Mello. Once they were inside of the building, L went to the front desk to ask what room Near was being kept in. Both kids were next to him, listening for the number she told him.

"Yes… Near is in room 222," she explained kindly. L nodded and thanked her before looking at the map on the wall. Room 222 was upstairs so they would have to either take the elevator or the stairs. They all decided on the stairs because the elevators were always busy, so it would probably take even longer for them to reach the room, as ironic as that may seem. After reaching the top floor, they found that room 222 was conveniently located only a couple of meters away from the stairs. L was the first to open the door, and was slightly disturbed when he saw the amount of tubes transfusing Near some sort of vital liquids. The boy was covered in a white sheet, which made him look even smaller than he black haired man promptly walked over to the bed and glanced at the pale boy's face. He was alive and breathing, but he looked so fragile that the man couldn't help but feel worried. Mello and Matt both seemed to feel the same way because they were both worriedly gazing over the smaller boy. L sighed and pulled up a few chairs from the back of the room and brought them next to the bed. He sat down in the first one in his distinctive fashion and Matt took the second seat. Mello on the other hand, didn't sit down. He was looking strangely pale as he seemed to carefully study Near's face.

* * *

Near woke up to a dark room. He looked around recognizing the place instantly. His old bedroom at his parents house. His eyes widened immediately. There was no possible way that he could actually be here, so he concluded that this must be a dream. He glanced at his bedsheets which were ragged and old yet still warmer than anything he remembered feeling. He glanced at the door to his room, noticing it open slowly as a woman he recognized as his mother walked into it. _This isn't real… I can't let myself freak out. _

"Nate… the sky looks so beautiful tonight… come out to walk with me and papa." Near swallowed thickly. He knew how this story ended, he was living through a full memory after all. There was nothing he could do to change what had already happened, and even in his dream, his body seemed to not take his orders, immediately nodding at the woman's request. If only he had said no that day, things could have ended up different. It didn't matter anyway, what was done was done. His mother gently grabbed his hand and led him outside. The sky really did look beautiful… maybe it was supposed to console him for what was about to happen. It was a silent walk, his parents didn't say anything to him while they took him farther away than he had ever been from their home. He remembered how he had been slightly concerned for what was going on. Near had always been as gullible as he was intelligent. He was easily blinded by people he cared about, and his parents fell in that category. He hadn't suspected they would do anything to him, and perhaps that was a fatal mistake on his part. He didn't question when they arrived at an almost vacant area, only inhabited with a few _strange _individuals. Two men wearing masks were suddenly approaching them, and Near vaguely recalled the confusion he had felt years ago when this had actually happened. A flash forward and he was now on a train, parents nowhere to be seen. There were other kids on the train as well… they too had been abandoned as he had. _Abandoned…_ it hurt to think that it really was his parents who did that do him. He had always known that his family was struggling financially. There needed to be some sort of a solution to this issue but he had never considered that _he _would be the solution. _Selling me to the black market, it was for a good cause right? _It probably was, his mother had been expecting another child, maybe that child could live a better life with the money they made from this… it was selfish to not be happy for that, _wasn't it? _Even now he was still mulling over he thought. Surely he had to be in the wrong… another flash and he was suddenly being grabbed by a woman who dragged him into her home.

"I paid good money for you, so don't slack off" she grumbled, handing him a mop and a bucket. Just as he had done back then, he nodded calmly and did as she told him… until night came. He remembered the obscene feeling of adrenaline as he ran out of the house not turning back for a second. He had somehow managed to escape. The rope he had been tied with was now messily sawed off. He had cut it off hurriedly while the women had gone to take a shower using a knife in the kitchen. He had carelessly slit himself by accident on multiple occasions as he attempted to get free. The pain was barely there though, he ignored it and ran. Ran and ran until he was at least a mile away from the house. His gasps of breath were more and more frequent and ragged, yet he didn't falter in a single step. It had to be the adrenaline that was keeping him from halting his movements. Whatever it had been, he had reached somewhere he didn't recognize whatsoever. There were glowing signs on top of the many shops scattered around. He remembered this to be the moment where the most painful realization had hit him. He had nowhere to go and no one that would be willing to help him. He probably would have been better off, trapped where he was with that woman. This Is what he had initially thought of course, but that thought was drowned out as he knew now that he had a better place to be. The orphanage was his home now and… and….they had given him up for money as well… there was no other way of looking at it now. There had to be something wrong with _him, _not the orphanage or his parents. He had managed to drag poor Matt and Mello into his problems as well, and now their only home had rejected them and… it had to be his fault. There was no one else to blame. Mello had to have known this entire time that he was just back luck to be around. That had to be why he would so aggressively express his hate towards him. He really didn't deserve anything…

* * *

_Something was wrong. _Mello could sense it as soon as he walked into the room. Near looked to be peacefully asleep to an outsider's perspective but for some reason Mello had the feeling that his sleep was far from restful. The beeping on his heart monitor was mainly even, yet Mello could see a slight tremble on his lips. A small noise escaped Near causing both Matt and L to stare down at him as well. Near's eyes snap open but they seem to be filled with… guilt? Or maybe it was sadness. Whatever it was, Mello felt a small sense of protectiveness wash over him and gently placed his hand on Near's shoulder. "Hey… are you feeling ok?" He asked quietly. He noticed Near shift his glance from the ceiling to his face and then immediately whisper something.

"M-mello… I'm sorry, this is all my fault…" His voice was barely above a whisper, but with the silence of the room, all three of them could hear what he was saying. Mello gawked at him for a second. _Why... is he suddenly apologizing? _

"Near… why?" Mello couldn't process what he was hearing. Both Matt and L looked equally puzzled at this. Near seemed to swallow thickly and continue in a low murmur,

"You both… lost your home... because of me. There's something... _wrong_ with me and both of you suffered because of it…"

"Near! What are you talking about?" Mello exclaimed. His voice was louder than it should have been causing the white haired boy on the bed to flinch slightly.

"Nothing's wrong with you Near… how does the orphanage refusing to rescue us have to do with something being wrong with you…? Matt whispered, allowing his voice to take a much softer and calmer tone than Mello had previously responded with. Near tried to push himself up on the bed so that he felt like he could hold some ground to this conversation, but was unable to get even an inch off the bed. This was due to L placing his hand on his shoulder and pushing him down.

"You're not in any state to sit up." The raven haired man stated blatantly. Near spared him a confused glance and his eyes slightly widened when he realized who it was he was looking at.

"L…H-howー"

"Please do not refer to me with that name in public…" Near shrunk back, embarrassed for not remembering something so important. He whispered another apology, a waver in his voice causing Matt and Mello to exchange concerned glances. L frowned slightly, Near wasn't acting like himself. He had every reason to be shaken up considering what he had just recently gone through but right now he seemed to be acting like a different person entirely. Despite this, L felt bad for not speaking more gently to him. He had known these kids since they were brought into the orphanage and Near had been brought at quite a young age. He had never been one to sound so… vulnerable, always maintaining a strong serious appearance. His emotions were normally impossible to read, but he looked visibly upset right now. _Why is he completely blaming himself all of a sudden,_ wondered L. Taking a look at the youngest boy's face, L felt his frown deepen when he realized that Near's face showed exhaustion and he still looked unreasonably pale. It could be the numbing medication that was draining him of his energy. With it, he was probably unaware of how much emotion he was actually letting loose. He might as well not even remember any of this happening if he fell asleep now and woke up later. Either way, all of them seemed equally in the dark about what caused Near's sudden strange behavior.

* * *

"I-it has to be me.." Near suddenly whispered. To add to Mello's concern, he seemed to be visibly shaking now. "I don't deserve a home. My parents knew this too." L's eyes suddenly widened and he realized what was going on. When Near was taken into whammy orphanage, the great detective had personally conducted a bit of a background check on the boy to know at least where he came from. He couldn't find too much about him, but was able to tell that his family had been struggling with money for quite some time. When he dug around for more information, he figured out that Near had been sold into some sort of human trafficking system at some point, and by his own parents no less. When he first found out about this, of course he was upset as to how any parent could do that to their own child, but he didn't think too much of it, considering almost all of the wammy kids came from a dark background. They were supposed to be safe as soon as they became part of the system yet unfortunately, as they had just proven, they were not fit to take on that role. They failed to provide these kids with the basic safety that each and every one of them deserved. It was shameful to say that some low life thugs could just swoop in and take all three of L's successors so easily. Shameful as it was, it still didn't compare to how outrageous it was for the kids to go missing and Whammy to not lift a finger to save them. This all pieced together creating the worst possible puzzle. _Near… so first, his parents abandon him for money, and when he finds a new home, they too value money over his life. That's why he's forcing himself to believe that this is all his fault. He thinks that if only Mello and Matt were taken, they wouldn't have had to go through the trouble they did, and Whammy would have, no doubt, rescued them. _L clenched his fist which rested on top of his knee cap. The fabric of his baggy jeans crumpled a bit from the harsh action. The feeling of anger had never been so strong for L though. He had experienced many outrageous things in his life, but he couldn't stand for something like this. Human lives should have more value. Anyone who dared to take a human life, didn't deserve their own. If the kids hadn't made it out alive, he would have never forgiven Wammy's and despite them living through this, he still didn't feel ready to trust them with any of these kid's safety. They deserved better than this and he would make sure that's what they got.

* * *

Matt started at the pale boy in shock. had he just said something about his parents not wanting him because something was 'wrong' with him? There was no possible way that any parent would willingly give away their child, curse those parents. No one deserved that! Matt felt himself almost shake in anger at the thought, and anger was Mello's forte, not his.

"Near, whatever thought about you isn't true!" The brunette yelled suddenly. "Nothing is wrong with you!" Matt didn't want to come off as angry, becaue then Near may have thought that he was angry at him, but he wasn't able to stop the rage from leaking through his voice. It really wasn't like him to get angry, maybe it was this whole situaion that had him out of his mind. Near just silently stared at him for a second with his wide grey eyes, before shaking his head.

"No… If I hadn't been taken with you, you both would have probably been rescue―"

"That's not true…" L suddenly interrupted. "It was a poor decision on Wammy's part to reject the offer those men were making, and it had nothing to do with you." L took a breath and continued. "Frankly I am quite angry at them for what they did, and I don't feel as though I can trust them with the safety of my successors anymore," Near didnt respond, but looked to be surprised at L's words. L had grown up and lived at Wammys since he himself was a child, so for him to say that he lost trust in his own home, was not something to be taken lightly. "I know this is quite sudden for you Near, but I did inform Mello and Matt of this idea before hand," He paused and took a look at the two of them, who both nodded for emphasis. "I believe that I should take all three of you in my legal custody." He stated simply. Near hadn't expected this at all and it was obvious to anyone who cared to spare him a glance. His eyes were wide, lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something. Matt suddenly patted Near's hair causing him to turn his wide-eyed gaze towards the brunette.

"We could all be brothers Near! Isn't that awesome?" Near looked to be quite overwhelmed from this news. He felt frustrated being forced to lay down and take all of this information rather than being able to properly sit up. He felt like he could not be taken seriously if he said what he wanted to say lying down.

"L, I… I do not deserve that…" He whispered quietly. "Thank you for offering." Both Matt and Mello gaped at the response.

"What are you talking about Near? You definitely deserve it!" Matt explained almost frantically. Near shook his head and opened his mouth to respond but Mello beat him to it.

"Well, since Near isn't staying, I guess I won't either…" The blonde said suddenly. Near abruptly turned his head towards the blonde boy only to realize he was being serious. _Why would Mello decline such an important offer, just because of me? He had to be joking right…? _

"Oh… I mean yeah, I won't either. It's either all three of us, or none of us," Matt declared proudly. L smiled and nodded, _as much as I don't want them to go back there, if Near goes alone, I would be even more concerned…_

"No. Please don't miss such a great opportunity just because of me," The white haired boy countered shaking his head lightly.

"Nope. All or none Near. You've gotta choose." Mello proclaimed bluntly. He knew he was probably putting a bit too much pressure on someone who had just barely awoken from surgery, but he was really hoping that Near would say yes. He could tell that Near was feeling a bit overwhelmed from all of the attention directly towards him, but he responded anyway. Nearseemd to shrink even deeper into his bed and then finally let out a small sigh before whispering,

"Alright then, I guess I can't refuse…". Without warning, Matt reajed forward in an attemted hug but was abruptly pulled back by L.

"Be careful Matt. He isn't healed yet, you could hurt him," The black-haired man warned. Matt rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Near had noticed that Matt and Mello didn't look really surprised, probably because they already had their chance to be shocked at the news prior to Near finding out. The small pale boy didn't say anything for a bit. He just pursed his lips and looked down at his lap, twiddling with the fabric of the blanket. Mello took the opportunity to finally speak his mind. He glanced at Matt and L who both gave him a look of approval.

"Near…" The blonde started getting his attention immediately. _Mello is probably about to express his hatred towards me, it's been awhile since he's got the chance to…_ "I'm sorry for always treating you badly… you didn't deserve any of it," Mello stated genuinely. That was not the response that Near had expected… He didn't even bother to cover up the look of visible surprise that had etched itself into his features.

"Mello, are you ok…?" he whispered suddenly. Matt almost sniggered at the bluntly honest reaction. Mello rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He could imagine that Near was probably confused at him suddenly apologizing for his mistakes. He himself didn't know what made him realize the wrongness of how he had treated the white-haired boy. _I did poison him with a granola bar, that could add to my feeling of guilt and make me want to apologize..._

"Near, I'm seriously sorry. You don't have to forgive me, I know I haven't done anything to deserve that but―"

"I forgive you," The reply was so deadpan and quick that Mello almost didn't even realize that Near had meant those words towards him. Both L and Matt gave him a look that Mello translated into being smug. _They did tell me that he would forgive easily… but I didn't expect that at all. _"There is no point in holding unnecessary grudges when that can all be avoided" Near mumbled quietly, perhaps he had reached his limit with the energy he had. Mello saw the pale boy's lips move slightly again but whatever he was saying was too quiet to hear.

"Get some rest Near," L advised lightly, pulling up the pale sheet up to Near's chin as he quietly dozed off.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry for the late update;-; The next chapter chapter will be the last, and I will have it out within the week most likely. this chapter is extra long to make up for the delay...**


	7. Chapter 7 - Healing

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I do not own death note or the cover art :)**

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It had been roughly two days since the hospital visit, and there had been multiple more visits during that time. Near's condition had stabilized quite a bit since then and now he was ready to be discharged. Of course, the damage inflicted on his body was far from fully being healed, he still was to be on bed rest for at least a week. Despite this being the day for Near to be discharged, he didn't look very well. Mello and Matt had urged L to visit him as many times as possible throughout the time that he was in the hospital and he always seemed to look tired and pale. Mello couldn't help but feel worried. He knew that Matt felt the same wasy, they had been watching him carefully every visit but he persisted in saying that he was alright even though it was a clear lie. The doctors hadn't allowed him to walk even when he was being released, they had explained that he should use a wheel chair for now. Mello could tell that the white-haired boy knew full well of his own condition adn he knew that he wouldn't be able to walk. Because of this, he did not protest to having to use a wheelchair. Something about him seemed so wrong to Mello, yet he couldn't pin point what exactly it was. Near had always been a quiet person but after his first awakening, he had barely uttered a word. Not even as they entered the new residence that L had purchased for the four of them. Maybe he had used up all the emotion he could muster from that time, because he didn't so much as blink when he saw that they had a new home. Mello took the responsibility of wheeling Near around since he felt partially responsible for his condition. He glanced once again at the small boy in the seat. No reaction.

"Hey… Near? You ok?" He asked quietly. Near's eyes slowly looked up and locked onto his with a steady gaze,

"Y-yeah... I'm just tired…" He whispered back quietly. Mello lowered his suspicious gaze as to not let Near know that he didn't buy his alibi whatsoever. Near had justified his strange behavior with 'being tired' for the past three days and the blonde no longer felt he could believe that statement.

"Alright then, you should get some sleep, I'll take you to your room." Near's soldiers seemed to drop a bit at the statement, but he nodded anyway. Matt and L were also concerned for Near, but at the moment they were unpacking some items that L had told Watari to send him. If he was to be living here now, then some alterations needed to be made. Mello seemed to fully in charge of the younger boy at the moment. He didn't mind though, he wanted to have a chance to try and make it up to him. Although Near had ewasily accepted his apologu back at the hospital, he felt that he needed to prove it to himself that he actually deserved it. Other than the rolling of the wheels, the walk (or ride for Near) down the hall was silent. Near's room was right next to Mello's and straight across from Matt's. The rooms were quite large, much larger than the ones that they all had had at Wammys. Matt seemed to be the most initially exited when he heard about this. He said something about being able to install a 'gaming device' that he had always wanted. The though put a smile on Mello's face, at least one of them hadn't changed. His thoughts cut back to reality when he noticed that they were both in front of the door to Near's assigned bedroom. He let go of the grip he had on the wheel chair handle with his right hand, instead using it twist the door handle and push the door open. It was quite surprising to see that L had already managed to get people to shift their belongings into the house. Near's belongings consisted of many many toys as well as a closet full of white pyjamas identical to the ones he always rolled the wheel chair directly next to Near's bed, which had been draped with soft white sheets. Come to think of it, almost everything in Near's room was either white, or a light shade of grey. Unlike Mello's which only had white walls but everything else was either black or a dark red color. Mello carefully attempted to ease the smaller boy into his bed without causing him any discomfort. Near didn't seem to be in any sort of pain and the blonde was glad for that. He hadn't liked seeing Near hurt one bit, even though he remembered how many times he had wished pain upon him in the past. He internally cringed at those thoughts now. His whole viewpoint had changed so drastically in the last week that he could hardly believe it himself. He would never even thought about carefully tucking Near into bed like an elder brother may do, yet here he was performing that very same action with little to know hesitation. Once he was done, he silently turned on his heels, turning towarfsd that door. _If he wants to rest then he probably wouldn't want me to stick around just to watch him sleep… _The blonde boy stopped dead in his tracks when he felt a small hand grab his wrist lightly. He turned again only to notice that Near had latched onto his arm.

"Can you… stay. Just until I fall asleep...?" The small boy questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. The blonde stared at him with disbelief, _and here I was trying to give him some privacy…_

"Y-yeah sure," Mello muttered hesitantly. There was no chair next to Near's bed as there had been at the hospital, so Mello was stuck in an awkward position just standing there as Near still held his wrist. To the blonde's relief, this awkwardness didn't last for much longer as the white-haired boy mumbled a small 'thank you' before quickly dozing off. As sleep took over him, Near's grip on Mello slackened allowing the blonde to carefully tuck the small boy's arm back under his blanket. He felt a smile tug on the corner of his lips. He was glad for Near to be finally sleeping peacefully, he didn't think that sleep at the hospital could have been comfortable for him. Not with IV's stuck in his arm and a constant beeping monitor playing in his ears. This was probably the first real sleep that Near had had in awhile. At least the first one in a week, which was too darned long of a wait for getting rest. Mello could recall how exhausted he had been after he and Matt were brought to that hotel with L. He knew that he would have been much more grumpy if he was in Near's place and was just now getting a decent amount of rest. He frowned faintly upon the idea before hesitantly turning around and stepping towards the door.

"H-help...Mello...Matt," the small whisper caused Mello to immediately turn back and stare at the boy on the bed disbelievingly. Near tossed in his sleep restlessly whispering words that were almost inaudible. Mello had already made his way to the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shook the boys shoulder in a careful fashion in an attempt to wake him up. Another nightmare, just like that night in the cell. He shivered at the thought of being back there. Their situation had been so hopeless back then but he hadn't had time to give it much thought in the moment. He was only now realizing how much he hated that feeling. Near wasn't waking up, he seemed to get more frantic, flinching violently away from Mello's grip. Mello just barely managed to dodge a leg that came flying from under the blanket. _Dude, what is he dreaming about!? _Mello shook his head quickly to get a grip on the situation. He grabbed the pale leg that had missed his head by a hair and pushed it back into the bed. He then worked quickly to pin down all of Near's limbs. One thing was for sure, Near was stronger than he looked, not stronger than Mello though, at least not in his current condition. Mello was able to easily get him to stay still, though he was still struggling against the blonde's grip.

"Near! Wake up!" Mello was speaking loud, he was slightly hoping that Matt and L wouldn't walk in to find him half-wrestling Near onto a bed. They would probably think he was trying to murder him…

Near's eyes suddenly snapped open and he realized that he was fighting Mello and not…

"Near, are you with me…?" Mello asked more quietly. He quickly pushed himself off of Near's bed and let his arms and legs free. Near's eyes were wide and he suddenly grew very uncomfortable.

"Mello, I-I'm sorry…" Mello shook his head and smiled softly.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize… do you want to talk about it?" Mello was genuinely curious as to what had caused Near to thrash and ask for help in his sleep. Near pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly. All that movement really wasn't good for him. Mello's gaze became slightly worried when he noticed that Near was probably in pain. "You okay?" Mello knew that Near couldn't be ok, this question was more of a test of trust. If Near told him he was 'totally fine', the boy probably didn't trust him with the truth. He would respect that, _I don't think I would instantly trust someone who used to hate me either… _

"I… will be fine." Mello pondered at the words; the nite-haired boy had chosen to say 'will be' and not 'am'. That could only lead to the conclusion that he was not fine at the current moment.

"You're right Near…" Mello started, earning a puzzled look from Near who had obviously not expected him to say that. "You will be fine, but you are not fine right now, and if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. I know you probably don't have as much trust in me as you do in someone like L or Matt, so if you're not comfortable talking to me, I can go fetch one of them for you…" Mello explained these words with a heavy heart. He didn't know why he felt upset that Near most likely didn't trust him, or would probably never trust him as much as he did the others. His feelings were irrelevant at the moment. Near had to open up to someone, whether that be him, or the others. If he kept bottling up his emotions… well, that would just be really unhealthy.

"Mello, I appreciate the gesture but it was just a nightmare… Nothing more and nothing less. I don't think that I am tired anymore, I can just read a book or something..."

"A nightmare about that man?" Mello's suddenly interrupted. Near's eyes opened just a slight bit wider and his lips parted a bit. It was for a split second but the look didn't go unnoticed by Mello. _So I was right… _"Near, did he do anything worse than what we know…" torturing him so brutally was already bad enough, but there was only one way that it could get worse… Mello really hoped for that theory to be untrue…

"Mello, it isn't what you think it is… I assure you. The only injuries I received were the ones that you saw with your own eyes. I would not lie about something like this." That was a relief to the blonde boy, who released a breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding.

Suddenly the door burst open revealing A familiar brunette with goggles.

"Near… uh, the police called you for questioning and L's gonna drive us all to the station… " the brunette explained, he then turned to his blonde friend who was already getting up to help Near onto his wheelchair. "Mels, do you need help with that?" Mello swiftly looked up at him and replied with a curt nod.

"Just hold the wheel chair so it doesn't roll while I'm trying to get Near into it." The blonde instructed. Matt didn't waste any time, within a few seconds he was already at the chair, gripping the handles and stabilizing it in place. Not more than two minutes later, Near was seated in the wheelchair. Mello wordlessly pushed him back out the door and through the hallway with Matt following closely behind him. Near was once again silent throughout the ride causing Mello and Matt to feel awkward. Mello could see through the window that the car was already parked outside. A very prim and proper looking driver awaited them inside of the car's drivers seat. L was already sitting in the car, in the shotgun seat. Matt opened the door to the back seat of the car, allowing Mello to carefully help Near into the seat. Once he was sure the white haired boy was situated, he folded up the wheelchair, and put it into the trunk of the car. He was the last one to sit in the car, after having closed the trunk. The driver seemed to be in a hurry to drop them off, for whatever reason, and didn't waste any time in pressing the gas pedal as soon as the sound of the door shutting reached his ears. Aside from the soft hum of the radio, the car ride was silent. It was rather short too because, in what seemed to be around 5 minutes, they had already reached the police station. The car was parked outside of the police station, allowing L and the kids to vacate the vehicle. It took awhile to get Near's wheel chair out of the car, but one he was properly seated, L didn't hesitate to lead in front of the kids. Surprisingly, neither Matt nor Mello showed any sign of hesitation either. It was difficult to tell whether or not Near was uncomfortable. His face showed only neutrality. The same look that, before this incident, he never let slip.

Once they all got into the building, officer Yagami welcomed them with a small smile. It faltered slightly upon seeing the condition of the pale boy in the wheelchair. Nevertheless, he spoke with a kind yet serious tone.

"I'm really glad that all of you are here [in one piece].This may seem a bit sudden, but I think that we may have found the culprits. They have been detained so If it's not too much I would like for you to see them and tell us whether or not they are the same criminals that abducted you kids." Mello really wasn't surprised that the police had managed to find the men so quickly. It wasn't surprising honesty, considering they had the help of L on their side. That being said, sure he would be uncomfortable having to see them again, but he wasn't really too worried about himself. He was more concerned for Matt, or even Near, considering the pale kid was probably the _most_ traumatized from this whole ordeal. _Would they be alright?_ There really _was _only one way to find out.

"Follow me," officer Yagami ordered, before walking over to a door next to the reception desk. They all obliged with no complaints. As they entered the room, the first thing that came into view was the large cell that took up almost half of the space. Inside the cell were two men, handcuffed and each masked with beige looking sacs. Mello winced slightly. He supposed that cells would never give off positive energy after having to be stuck in one for what seemed like far too long. He glanced at Matt, who was already looking at the ground with his fists clenched tightly. Near didn't look away from the cell but the color of his face resembled that of when they had all been trapped in a cell just like this one. Unable to escape. It was the exact ashen look he had when he was oh so close to the brink of death. The look made Mello's heart ache.

None of the kids noticed when L started at them with his face full of concern. They were all more focused on officer Yagami, as he reached into the cell and pulled off both of the beige colored masks from a top their heads. Their reaction upon seeing the kids was immediate. Pure disgust and hatred blazing in their eyes. They were without a doubt the same people who had put them through hell.

Mello opened his mouth to testify, only to be cut off by Near, who spoke without a hint of fear and hesitation.

"They are the ones," his words sealed the fate of the two criminals in the cell. Even so, officer Yagami glanced at the other two victims of the situation. All three of them had to testify against these two men in order for the court to take legal action against them.

Mello was the second one to respond,

"Yes, they are the sickos that kidnapped us and then tried to sell us off," his voice didn't lack malice. They deserved far worse than just a few harsh words but this is all he could do due to the current situation.

"Y-yeah, it was them," came Matt's shaky yet firm reply.

Officer Yagami gave L a curt nod and then opened the door for them to leave. Despite how quickly they rushed out of the room, Mello heard the unmistakable sound of furious bickering that was now coming from the room. Based on the couple of words he was able to pick up, it was both of the idiots blaming each other for having gotten caught. That was the last, he was sure, that he would see of them. A sense of relief and comfort flooded him when he thought about that. Sure, getting kidnapped had been a horrible experience, but looking on the bright side, they had all managed to survive, and now, they were going to be working right next to L. There was nothing in this world he could think of that would be cooler than to have the opportunity to have the greatest detective in the world as your personal mentor/parent! Especially when Matt was going to be with him too. Hell, he was even excited about having someone as smart as Near around as a friend, rather than a foe!

The sound of soft snoring gently pulled Mello out of his excited thoughts. His eyes lowered to the wheelchair, where he was greeted by an unfamiliar sight. Near was sleeping. And sure, at this point, Mello had seen him sleep at least a dozen times. But him falling unconscious from fever and pain, or being plagued with nightmares as soon as he shut his eyes. That was the only type of 'sleep' he has seen the white-haired boy have. This was different. He didn't look like he was in pain, or that he was suffering from bad dreams. He looked at peace. It could have just been his imagination, but Mello almost thought he saw a soft smile playing on the pale boy's lips. He couldn't have been imagining it though, because he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Hey! Near's sleeping! Woah, it looks like he's smiling!" Matt exclaimed, his voice slightly above the whisper that it should have been.

"Matt! Do you _want_ to wake him up?" Mello whisper yelled at the brunette.

"Oh, sorry," Matt whispered back, making sure to keep his voice low this time.

Besides them, L smiled fondly at the sight of them. It would take a lot of time to be able to heal from this, but he was sure that they could do it. No, they wouldn't just heal from this mishap, they would use this experience to become even stronger than they were before. He was positive of this. A glance at them was all he needed to tell this. Near slightly shifting in his sleep. Mello scolding Matt for almost waking him up.

It was all he needed to tell that they were already on the path to recovering. Bonding and helping each other find strength within themselves. L was sure that this was what had got the kids through that nightmare situation. He was also positive that this was something that would forever be at their disposal.

_Yes, they will be just fine._

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Guys! Thank you so much for taking the time to read to the end of this fic. A special thanks to the people that commented. I swear, you commenters were the ones that got me through this fic! I couldn't have done it without you! **

**BloodyEmeraldRose**

**Messitoe**

**eph1027**

**Manha Khan**

**KilluaAckerman**

**(Yes I believe that all of you deserve a special shout out, love you guys)**

**On a side note, I didn't heavily edit this chapter or the one before it, but I'll be sure to do that in my free time. I really just thought that I should pump it out before I lose my motivation. Feel free to point out any errors! I know that my writing is far from being even close to perfect. Anyways, this is kinda top secret, but I may or may not be in the middle of writing some new fanfiction. And it may or may not be on Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (golden wind) **

**Don't get you're hopes too high tho, I might lose motivation before I finish the first chapter… (I know ;-; I am very unreliable) **

**WOW… Sorry for the long Author's note… I'll head out now?**


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